It's About Us
by Mymomomo
Summary: It's the small things, the big ones, the sad and the stressful, the joyful and the celebratory. It's about breaking barriers, and putting up some. It's about sticking together, and being in love. (Previously: A Part of One Another)
1. Flower Crowns and Nightmares

**Thanks to Kuroneko Hikage to starting this off :)**

* * *

Maybe anything could become the most beautiful thing in the world if you gave in fully, let it take you over, and let it be all you had. Toushiro was waiting in a field of daffodils and Ichigo paused for a minute just to look. He was sitting among the flowers breaking the stems and weaving them into a chain, finely-boned fingers working in a way that Ichigo knew he wouldn't ever be able to. For once, or at least for the first time in months, he looked to be at peace, absorbed with his task. The dark smudges under his eyes didn't look so bad when the corners of his mouth were turned upwards slightly. A chilly, spring wind blew, causing Ichigo to pull the thin robe that The Fourth had given him tighter around his body.

He heard Toushiro sigh loudly. "How the hell did you sneak past Isane?" he asked.

Ichigo grinned and plopped down next to him, glad to finally be off his sprained ankle . "She let _you_ out."

Toushiro shook his head. "You shouldn't be walking."

Ichigo stuck his tongue out. "I still have my legs attached; I'm fine."

Toushiro shot Ichigo an exasperated glare before snapping a fresh flower stalk and weaving it into his chain.

"You're really good at that."

Toushiro hummed, "Hinamori and I used to make these when we were children. It's... calming."

"Still can't sleep?"

Toushiro sighed again and shook his head. "The nightmares... aren't ... getting better."

Ichigo hummed sympathetically, plucking a daffodil from the grass near his foot and handing it to Toushiro. "They will eventually."

"Yes," Toushiro took the flower from him, letting their fingers brush.

They sat in silence for a while. The wind rustled the grass and the daffodils, on their long stems, swayed gently. Ichigo watched as Toushiro weaved together stem after stem then finally attached the last flower and looped the chain into a wreath. He held it up and his smile widened.

"We used to make these for Granny," he mumbled fondly.

"That's sweet. Are you going to wear this one?"

"No." He got to his knees and shuffled closer to Ichigo. "You are."

Ichigo chuckled, bowing his head to allow Toushiro to set the flower crown upon him. "Are you decorating me? Am I a knight now?"

Toushiro huffed in amusement snapping a fresh flower from its stalk and adding it to the crown. "I knight thee, Sir Ichigo Kurosaki, Lord of the daffodils."

His deadpan delivery had Ichigo snickering. "Does this mean I'm officially part of the Tenth Division now?"

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "No, it just means it's spring and this is the only flower around." He added yet another daffodil to the crown. Ichigo leaned forward to peck him gently on the forehead. Toushiro jumped back slightly and a light blush spread across his cheeks.

"What was that for?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Felt like it."

Toushiro shook his head, white locks falling into his face. He hadn't gotten his hair cut since before the war and he pushed it back in mild annoyance.

"What, nobody else is around..."

"That's... that's not," he huffed and picked another daffodil. He twisted the stem around his finger until it snapped, then reached up to twine it into Ichigo's crown. "This... we don't have to keep this a secret." He mumbled so quietly that Ichigo was sure that if they hadn't been so close that he wouldn't have heard him.

Ichigo smiled. "Of course not."

Toushiro stifled a yawn as he shuffled around Ichigo adding and arranging the flowers.

"Has Isane tried anything to get you to sleep?"

"I can sleep... it's just that it's hard to stay asleep."

"Your dreams aren't real; they can't hurt-"

"Don't you think I know that? I know it's not truly happening; I know that time can't repeat itself." He ended with a vicious sigh.

"You're exhausted though."

"I am."

Ichigo took a deep breath. "Here." he reached around to grab Toushiro's wrist, "Sleep now."

"Kurosaki..."

"I'll wake you up if you have another nightmare."

Toushiro shuffled back around and sat on his knees in front of Ichigo. "I don't know-"

"You're tired." Ichigo extended an arm, brushing a stubborn cowlick from his forehead. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

Toushiro slowly shook his head. "A few hours maybe."

"That's not good..."

He hunched forward, scrubbing a hand down his face. "I know... but I can't do anything about it."

Ichigo bit his bottom lip, tracing Toushiro's dark, swollen bags with his eyes. He hadn't gotten him to talk much about his nightmares: he hadn't talked with anyone about his nightmares. But Ichigo could only imagine what it must have been like being unable to control his body and being forced to attack his own. They hadn't thought that he had been aware through Giselle's 'zombification' but he had. And Mayuri's _cure_ had been just short of torture; he had track marks from where he had been injected with some drug or other. It made Ichigo's skin crawl to think that Toushiro relived that moment every night.

"Why does it matter so much to you anyway," Toushiro muttered.

Ichigo almost scoffed. "I care about you. I more than care about you."

...

Ichigo snuck into Toushiro's room that night. It had not been difficult to get around Isane, or maybe she knew and didn't think that it was necessary to stop him. Either way he found himself into Toushiro's room sometime near midnight. He had been restless since they had returned from the field earlier that evening. His legs were itching to move, despite his healing ribs and sprained ankle, so he made his way to Toushiro's room, hoping that they could talk until one of them fell asleep.

Toushiro was already sleeping however. He was curled on his side, hands clutching his sheets tightly and a slight frown on his face. Ichigo hobbled to the bed leaning over to place a gentle hand against Toushiro's shoulder. Toushiro jumped, twitching violently, but didn't wake. Instead his frown deepened and his breathing became harsh and fast.

Ichigo clambered onto the bed, shaking Toushiro's shoulder before gathering him into his arms. Toushiro's eyes flew open, and he took a shuddering gasp. He was trembling slightly and breathing deeply.

"Ichigo?" he asked, voice soft, as he collapsed into Ichigo's hold.

"Yeah. I'm here; I'm not going to let you go. I'm never going to let you go."

* * *

 **So with my workload, if I want to get any writing done I realise that it's going to have to be in the form of short works. So, I've decided to start a new prompt based fic. This time I'm gonna do oneshots instead of drabbles, so if you'd like to donate prompts go right ahead. I'm going to try to post once a week, between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.**

 **Rules: One prompt per review.**

 **If you want something AU then please specify and give some direction.**

 **If you want something M-rated again please specify and I will post it to my tumblr; only the clean versions will be posted here.**

 **I'm still kinda shocked with all the responses to What Makes Us, so consider this a sort of sequel.**

* * *

 ***Queue***

 **(up next is) Seijuku Ceremony**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	2. Earbuds and Witches

Ichigo didn't think he was particularly good with kids. His sisters were four years younger than him, so he often had to babysit for them, so admittedly he knew a thing or two; as long as there were no fires, body fluids, or alien abductions he would consider it a good night. Still, he hadn't babysat since Karin and Yuzu were eight or nine, so briefly wondered about his neighbours' sanity when they asked him to watch their daughters, as in plural, for the night.

It was actually Isshin that had passed along the job to his son, Yuzu and Karin were gone for a school trip that weekend, and he just so happened to be home. Ichigo had no doubt that his father was insane for doing so. But, he couldn't say no; he had already been paid. As a university student he made it a point to never turn down easy money, and babysitting was as easy as it came. Unless the kids were complete brats. He was hoping that they wouldn't be brats. He hadn't known that his neighbour had kids, when were they even born? Surely they wouldn't expect him to take care of a newborn, would they? He shivered. They wouldn't. No parent would trust a nineteen year old to take care of a newborn by themselves. Or he hoped so. Either way this was how he was going to be spending his Saturday night. Not that he was complaining... but he kind of, sort of would have rather done something a bit more fun with his boyfriend.

He honestly hadn't expected Toushiro to say yes when he asked him to help out. Honestly, he didn't need help, but he wanted to spend time together. He couldn't remember the last time Toushiro had flat out denied him a request, well a reasonable request. He didn't even blink when he had told Ichigo that he was not under any circumstances to attempt a keg stand at the upcoming frat party (And no he didn't care that Renji had dared him). Even though spending a night babysitting was far from an ideal date, he had agreed.

So, at 6:30pm sharp Ichigo and Toushiro rang the neighbour's doorbell wincing as they heard a shrill voice, screaming in excitement.

There were two girls; Mio who was five and Akari, an annoyed twelve-year-old who _most certainly did not need_ a babysitter. Once their parents had left Akari shut herself in her bedroom, refusing to even acknowledge either of them. Mio, on the other hand, could not be anymore hyper.

...

"Are you two like my mommy and daddy?" Mio asked as she watched Ichigo grab Toushiro's hand as they sat down for a snack of bananas and cashew nuts.

Ichigo looked at Toushiro and smiled. "Not quite, we're not married. Not yet anyway."

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "Yet? Shut – be quiet, you buffoon. None of that nonsense."

Mio giggled at the word buffoon and Ichigo and bent to peck him on the forehead. Toushiro wrinkled his nose.

"Why is your hair white?" she asked less than a minute later.

Ichigo sighed internally; he had noticed the small girl eyeing Toushiro's hair all night. He'd been expecting the question, but hadn't come up with a good way to answer, or even divert it. Toushiro simply cocked his head.

"I'll tell you after you get ready for bed."

"No fair," she pouted.

"You don't like bedtime stories?"

Ichigo raised his eyebrows as she dashed off to her bedroom. He'd been wondering how he was going to get such an energetic kid to bed.

"You're a genius," he mumbled, pecking Toushiro on the temple.

Toushiro shrugged, "So I've been told."

She scuttled back out after a few minutes to grab Toushiro by the hand and drag him to the bathroom. "I need help brushing my teeth."

Akari was on her laptop in the bedroom and only raised an eyebrow when she saw them come in. Mio huddled under her covers still holding Toushiro's hand.

"What, is it bedtime for me too?" she asked while rolling her eyes.

"Your sister wanted a story. We won't be invading your privacy for too long; don't worry." Ichigo sighed, sitting down at the foot of Mio's bed with the pink, glittery unicorn stickers.

"Whatever." She mumbled and reached into the drawer on her nightstand to pull out a pair of earbuds.

"Okay, so are you sure you want to know?" Toushiro began once Mio had stopped moving.

"Yes!"

"Are you going to believe me?"

"Uh huh! Tell me!"

Ichigo grinned when Toushiro patted her head to keep her from jumping up and down.

"Okay, well the reason I have white hair is because I made a deal with a witch."

She gasped, and Ichigo had to hold back a snort. Akari looked over with slightly piqued interest.

"Yes, when I was little my mom was really sick. The doctors couldn't do anything-"

"What was wrong? Did she have a tummy ache?"

"No, Mio, something much worse than that," Akari sighed.

Ichigo turned to see that she had removed one of her earbuds to listen.

Toushiro nodded. "She slept all day and had bad dreams at night, but nothing would wake her up. One day I heard that they was a witch passing through my town and I thought that if anything could make my mom better it would be magic. So I went to look for her. But, the thing is, witches look like everyone else. They don't have green skin or warts-"

"So how did you find her?"

Toushiro smiled that lopsided grin of his that had Ichigo sitting on his hands to keep from jumping him in front of the girls.

"They say that if you whisper the word pumpkin they sneeze."

Mio giggled.

"So, I went around for weeks trying to find the witch, and I did. When I was walking home from school there was a woman in a grey business suit behind me. She looked normal, but when I said pumpkin she sneezed loudly and jumped like a frog. Then she spun around looking for me and she looked angry, let me tell you. I was scared at first; she looked like she was going to turn me into a slug – they do that to people they don't like, you know."

Mio's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with pudgy hands.

"But, I remembered my mom, and how much I wanted to help her, so I told the witch was I wanted. She made a deal with me; she would help my mom if I gave her my hair. I used to have really long hair; it was almost down to my butt-"

Mio laughed and Akari snickered softly.

"And she cut it all off." When I went home my mom was all better, so it was all worth it. No one noticed that all my hair was gone. I guess it was part of the magic, but when it grew back it was white."

Mio was speechless, she tilted her mind processing the story until, "Are you sure you didn't just dye it?"

Ichigo laughed as Toushiro winked at the five-year-old. Akari had put her earbuds back in but she didn't look as sullen anymore.

...

"I didn't know you were good with kids," Ichigo grinned as he pulled Toushiro into his side as they sat together on the living room couch. The girls were sleeping, or at least Mio was, Akari most probably was still awake on her computer, but they could imagine that her bedtime wasn't really enforced. Besides it was a weekend; it would have been unnecessarily mean to make her go to bed so early.

Toushiro shrugged resting his head against Ichigo's chest. "Children are easy, they're simple. Like dogs. Except they talk."

Ichigo chuckled and leaned over to kiss him, guiding his face to his with his index finger under his chin. Toushiro allowed his a chaste peck on the lips before drawing back.

"We're not making out on a stranger's couch."

Ichigo snorted; it would be awkward if they came home, or if one of the kids saw them. He pretended to pout. Toushiro shook his head and kissed him softly before nuzzling into his side.

"I never know what to expect when I ask me to come home with you."

"I like keeping things unpredictable. Half the time I don't know what to expect either."

Toushiro chuckled softly.

"Next time we'll go on a real date, I promise."

* * *

 **Thanks to Seijuku Ceremony for this one :)**

 **Next up is Nico Zi**

 **Donations are open**

 **Rules: **

**One prompt per review.**

 **If you want something AU then please specify and give some direction.**

 **If you want something M-rated again please specify and I will post it to my tumblr; only the clean versions will be posted here.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	3. Parents and Trains

Ichigo and Toushiro had been dating seriously for a while. They both felt confident that their relationship was going to last long into the future. Ichigo at first had wanted to keep it a secret from his family, unsure how to bring up the topic, but he was nervous about how his father – and Yuzu – was going to react. Karin maybe suspected something since she and Toushiro were good friends, but Toushiro could keep a secret like a hamster hoarding sunflower seeds, so he wasn't too sure. They hadn't said anything. And Toushiro – asocial, slightly awkward, and oblivious Toushiro – didn't care that he hadn't been formally introduced to his family.

"You've never met my dad, have you?" Ichigo asked, looking up from his work planner. They got a three day weekend next week, and he wanted to go home for a bit. But since he and Toushiro usually spent weekends together...

"No," Toushiro answered without looking away from the movie Ichigo had set him up with.

He hummed. Oh what the hell, Isshin would have to meet Toushiro sooner or later. It made no sense to avoid the inevitable. "I wanted to go home next weekend, so I guess you can meet him then."

Toushiro grunted in affirmative.

"Just a bit of warning," Ichigo sighed scratching the back of his neck, "he's a bit weird."

"Okay."

Ichigo shook his head; Toushiro would learn exactly what he meant by weird next week. He could decide then whether he should run or not.

At least he liked train rides.

Ichigo called ahead to let his family know that he was bringing his boyfriend home. He could almost feel Isshin vibrating in excitement through the phone, and warned him not to scare Toushiro away. He noticed the way his father had paused before he blabbered on about how excited he was to meet him. He didn't press it, chalking it up to his normal weird behaviour. But after he hung up he began to wonder if they had ever crossed paths before; Isshin had used to be a _shinigami_ after all.

However, he hadn't expected their meeting to be a disaster.

He had gotten Toushiro set up in his room and they were waiting with Karin and Yuzu to start dinner. After Yuzu's initial excitement about learning that thye were dating had worn off she served dinner. Karin reaction was to jab Toushiro in his side with her elbow, and cackle about how her team owed her 600 yen each for not believing that he was gay. Isshin was late in coming home from a 'medical conference', so they started eating without him, but when he barged through the door yelling his usual 'I'm home' Toushiro froze. Ichigo thought that it was just anxiety; Toushiro wasn't always comfortable getting to know new people. He grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, but Toushiro's jaw only tensed and he sat stiffly in his chair.

Isshin bumbled into the kitchen merrily swinging his arms and Toushiro drew in a sharp breath and his eyes widened. He followed Isshin with his eyes as he sat down next to Yuzu. Ichigo began to feel like he was missing something when Toushiro's brow dipped into a dangerous frown. Only after he was seated did Isshin look over and smile at Toushiro.

He grinned widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Hello-"

Toushiro stood up so abruptly that his chair nearly toppled over. He gripped the edge of the table and was glaring at Isshin like he had committed murder. "What the hell are you doing here?" he spat.

Isshin's smile fell. "Ah. It's nice seeing you again, Toushiro-"

"Don't give me that! I thought you were dead!"

Isshin chewed his bottom lip while Ichigo rubbed his temples. Of course. Why had he thought that this would go any differently?

"I... well. As you can see... I'm not?"

Toushiro clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. He took a few deep breaths before storming from the room.

"What the hell, dad?" Ichigo growled. "What did you do?"

Yuzu was looking on anxiously while Karin was glaring at Isshin for all she was worth. The food sat forgotten on each of their plates.

Isshin sighed deeply. "I'll explain later. You should go see if he's okay."

Ichigo found Toushiro in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed and starting at his lap.

"Hey," he said, sitting down next to him making sure to leave a sufficient amount of space in between them. Trying to comfort Toushiro too soon after he exploded was fatal.

Toushiro sighed. "Hey." He clenched an unclenched his hands.

"Are you going to-"

"Did you know that your dad used to be a _shinigami_ captain?"

"Yeah..."

"They why didn't you – did you know that he used to be _my_ captain?"

Ichigo felt his eyes widen of their own accord. "Shit... no, I didn't. He only told me about how he met my mom."

Toushiro breathed heavily through his nose and they sat in silence for a long while. Ichigo was unsure what to do. Toushiro had never gone through the specifics on how he became a captain, and Ichigo hadn't thought to ask. He never would have guessed that his dad had been a part of Toushiro's life, though. What were the odds? Seriously? Ichigo watched the neon numbers on the digital clock on his desk change. Obviously Isshin and Toushiro had parted ways on less than ideal terms. Maybe his dad should be the one trying to fix this.

"Shiro?"

Toushiro sighed again. "He left. He left and I didn't know why."

"Were you close?"

"I was his third seat."

Ichigo scrubbed a hand down his face. "I think you two should talk."

Toushiro grit his teeth. "What do you say to someone who you thought was dead for the past forty years or so? I don't want to talk to him."

"He... he had a pretty good reason for why he left, I promise."

"He still left, just up and went without an explanation. Not even a note, no message or letter. I don't care what his reason was, you – you don't just leave someone behind without any intention to come back!"

Toushiro stood up and gave Ichigo his back as he wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"... If he had stayed, I wouldn't be here..."

Toushiro glanced at him from over his shoulder.

"That's a good enough reason, right?"

He turned around fully, chewing on his bottom lip. "Fine, I'll listen to what he has to say."

Ichigo sat between his father and Toushiro, the twins had gone to their room. Isshin had wanted to talk to Toushiro in private, but Toushiro said that if Ichigo wasn't in the room he wasn't going to listen. So the three of them sat at the kitchen table.

"Toushiro, I'm sorry-"

"No." He held up his hand. "I don't want an apology. You had... important things to do here." He glanced to Ichigo. "I just want an explanation."

Isshin smiled sadly. "I wouldn't have left if I didn't have complete confidence that you and Rangiku would pick up the slack. Believe me, I would never have put you through something you couldn't have handled."

Toushiro snorted. "You have no right to say that. You don't know how many rounds of questionings Matsumoto and I had to go through. You don't know what we had to do to keep the squad running. Because of you I didn't even have a chance to complete my _bankai_ before I had to become a captain. So, no I don't care what you _thought_. Now get on with it; we don't have all night."

Isshing sighed heavily. "Fair enough."

Ichigo looked awkwardly between the two. Toushiro's face was steeled, and Isshin didn't look too happy. At least there was no blood, he told himself, especially since earlier Toushiro looked like he had wanted to rip out Isshin's throat.

"Well, you see... I met Ichigo's mother..."

Once Isshin had finished his story, Ichigo reached for Toushiro's hand. Toushiro himself looked a little stunned, but he only shook his head. "Only you would do that, dumbass."

Isshin smiled uneasily, tilting his head. "Do you forgive me?"

"Yes. Am I still mad at you? Also yes."

"I expected as much." Isshin scratched the back of his neck. "But I gave you Ichigo so you can't stay mad for too long."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't _give_ him-"

"I made him," he stated, smugly folding his hands across his chest and grinning.

Ichigo winced and blushed heavily at the same time. He did not need to end the night with that mental picture. "Okay, this conversation is over." He stood up and grabbed Toushiro's hand pulling him away from the table. "Nice talk. Good night."

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay.**

 **I don't think any talk with Isshin can be serious all the way through.**

 **No one is up next, but donations are open if you so fancy.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	4. Leather Gloves and Teaspoons

There was a thump, like something heavy had been thrown down, from behind him. Ichigo looked over his shoulder to see two boys looming over a much smaller boy with white hair. He must have been new because Ichigo didn't recognise him. Either way, there was a book at his feet and he looked nervous.

"We were talking you, you deaf or what?"

Ichigo sighed, those two were always bullying the younger ones and gave newcomers a hard time. He rolled his eyes; this was why normal people thought that they were animalistic and dangerous. He grit his teeth; there were no alphas in the classroom. There were just here to learn how to control their powers.

He was about to tell the bullies off, but a deep, cool voice stopped him. Ichigo felt his chest clench at the sound; never had he heard something that smooth before.

"Leave me alone," the white-haired boy spoke, glaring so hard that Ichigo was sure that the room lowered a few degrees.

"We're just trying to talk to you."

"By throwing my book to the ground? Is that what friendship is? Seems like I've been mistaken for my entire life-"

They swung at him. A fist connect with the boy's cheek and he was knocked to the ground.

"Hey," Ichigo yelled, "what the hell, assholes?" he rushed over to the fallen boy.

The bullies snickered, but knew better than to mess with him so began to walk away. "Try that again and you'll get more than a bruised cheek," one of them sneered.

They boy was silent, but his eyes were so fierce that Ichigo found himself unable to hold his gaze.

"You okay?" he asked him, holding out his hand.

The boy stared at if for a second then picked himself up from the floor. Ichigo quickly shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

Ichigo stooped down and picked up his book. "Are you new here?" he asked offering it back to him. "I'm Ichigo."

He hesitantly took the book, holding it gingerly with a gloved hand. "Yes. Toushiro."

Ichigo grinned. "Is today your first day?"

Toushiro looked away. "Yes."

"Uh, not off to a good start then. I promise it's not all like that. I'll show you around."

"Okay."

Ichigo led him around the school complex pointing out which rooms were used for what and how the classrooms were built for helping students with different powers. Toushiro listened but his expression remained neutral, disinterested. Ichigo felt his spirits drop somewhat. But maybe he was a quiet person, though he had seemed particularly heated with the bullies.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"No."

Ichigo sighed and they walked for a short while in silence. That had been a dumb question anyway.

"So what are you here for?"

Toushiro blinked but otherwise said nothing.

"I can make force fields, it's not that exciting, I guess, but useful if anyone tries to punch me."

Toushiro nodded. Ichigo waited for another response but nothing came he shoved his hands into his back pockets and breathed out heavily through his nose. Eventually they ended up at the front gates. A few students trickled through; not many tended to hang out after classes ended. In fact he should be getting home before his dad started to worry.

"I-"

"Ice," Toushiro said softly.

"Hmm?"

"You asked what I was here for."

"Oh, you can control ice?"

Toushiro looked off to the side. "Yes."

"That's cool; one of my friends, Rukia, has a similar power. She goes nuts when it snows." He attempted to grin, but Toushiro's faced remained impassable. "Anyway, I should be getting home now. Which way are you heading?"

"Staying here."

Ichigo frowned until he remembered. "Oh, you mean you live in the dorms?"

Toushiro nodded.

"Oh, okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Uh, it was nice meeting you?" he held out his hand.

Toushiro looked down at his offered hand then shoved his hands into his jacket. Ichigo let his arm fall to his side.

"It was... nice meeting you as well."

Maybe he was just really nervous, Ichigo thought as he walked home. Transferring schools was hard; finding out that you had superhuman powers was even harder. The poor boy might have still been in shock.

Over the next couple of weeks tried his best to make Toushiro feel welcome, but the boy remained quiet and reserved. He was in most of Ichigo's classes, but he always sat at the back or near the window even if Ichigo invited him to sit with him and his friends. Most people would have just chalked him up to be incredibly rude. In fact, many people did, and Ichigo always found him eating lunch by himself or failed to see him at all. Even his friend, Renji, told him that he should just leave Toushiro alone. But something told him that he just needed a little work. It didn't help that he sort of might have had a crush on him. There was something there in his low voice and the intensity of his eyes.

Then, he wasn't in class one morning.

"So," Rukia mumbled sitting down at the desk behind Ichigo, "Toushiro got in-house suspension."

"What?" Ichigo spun around in his chair. "How? Why? He's always so quiet? What happened?"

"I didn't see what happened, but it was going around the dorms last night. Apparently he used his powers on another student. Hurt them really badly too."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Not using powers against other students or anyone in general was number one on the school's rule list. Usually the punishment was much worse than in-house suspension. Which was a fancy word for solitary confinement – the offender was restricted to their room and a classroom where they got one-on-one time with a 'guidance' counsellor. "That doesn't sound like him... he can't even keep eye contact with someone for too long."

Rukia shrugged. "I guess he got into a fight. Like I said I wasn't there; it was in the boys' dorms."

Ichigo chewed his bottom lip. "That really doesn't sound like something he'd do."

"Maybe it was an accident. You should talk to him."

"How?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"You up to sneaking into the dorms tonight?"

Ichigo grinned.

Sneaking into the dorms was disappointingly easy, especially for a school that was supposed to house the _most dangerous human beings on the plant_. But maybe they surmised that no one was dumb enough to sneak _in_ and only watched for those trying to sneak out. Rukia was waiting for him outside the boys' dorms and had already strong-armed one of the occupants on the first floor to let Ichigo in through their window.

"He's in room 406," she whispered as he swung through the window, "Call me when you're ready to sneak back out."

The staff member on duty that night was either very lax or Ichigo had finally hit a stroke of good luck and made it to 406 without a problem. Toushiro was sitting at his desk with a book and jumped when Ichigo barrelled through the door.

He spun around knocking his desk chair over, eyes wide. Ichigo held up his hands.

"Hey, just came to check on you."

Toushiro blinked a few times before bending to pick up the chair and sit back down. "I... uh... how did you get in here?"

"Rukia helped me," Ichigo said shrugging. "I heard about your suspension."

Toushiro looked away, gloved hands tightening into fists.

"What happened? Did you really use your power-"

"I didn't mean to," Toushiro blurted, a panicked expression crossed his face before he looked away once more.

"What happened?" Ichigo repeated, taking a few steps closer.

Toushiro took a deep breath. "They jumped me... I wasn't wearing my gloves."

Ichigo tilted his head as he perched himself on the edge of the desk. Toushiro shuffled away.

"Not wearing your gloves?"

Toushiro stared intently at his palms on his lap. "I... I can't control my powers very well. I... I hurt people when they touch me."

"You said you controlled ice."

"They freeze. Instantly."

Ichigo clicked his tongue. "Well, that sucks."

Toushiro sent him a dirty look. "It does."

"Ah I didn't mean it like that... I does suck, but... sorry, that wasn't the right thing to say." He took a deep breath. "They really suspended you for something you can't control?"

"It's better this way."

Ichigo shook his head. "No it's not. I miss you in class."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "We don't even talk."

"We're talking now."

He opened his mouth to argue but closed it and settled for shaking his head. "You're persistent, I'll give you that."

"Persistence is my middle name."

He actually chuckled softly. Ichigo felt his cheeks heat slightly and was glad for the dim lighting in the room.

"So, if you're having trouble with your powers, I could ask Rukia to help you; she has good control over hers. "

Toushiro sobered instantly, hunching his shoulders as if trying to shrink into his chair. "I... I wouldn't want to hurt her."

Ichigo tilted his head. "Your control can't be that bad."

"It is."

"I kinda want to see now..."

A look of absolute shock crossed Toushiro's face. "You want... to see?"

Ichigo shrugged and picked up a pencil from the holder behind him. Toushiro gulped as he took off one of his gloves. He hesitantly reached for the pencil. The moment it touched his fingers Ichigo felt a surge of cold sweep up his hand. He dropped the pencil in shock and instantly his defences were up. Toushiro jumped back as well and the pencil fell to the floor, shattering like it was made of glass.

Ichigo held up his hand watching as a layer of ice began to melt in the air millimetres away from his fingertips. He had managed to put up a very thin force field at the last second. If the pencil was anything to go by he probably would have ended up with severe frost bite at the least. And that wasn't even from a direct touch.

Toushiro stood and took a step backwards, then another. "I'm sorry," he murmured pulling his glove back on, "I... I-"

"Hey, it's okay, look," he held up his hand to show that the ice wasn't actually touching him.

Toushiro took a deep breath, and wrapped his arms around his stomach. "It's dangerous for you to be here; you should leave."

Ichigo tilted his head. "I said I'm okay. You didn't hurt me; there's no need to panic."

Toushiro swallowed.

"That was actually impressive; I've never seen something freeze that fast."

He snorted and sat down on the edge of his bed. "It's a talent," he said bitterly, and his voice cracked slightly.

"I'm sure Rukia can help you. She had a few control issues as well when she first found out about her powers."

"Thanks, but I don't think anyone can help me."

"She used to wake up with frozen blankets every morning."

"And I nearly killed my family."

Ichigo wasn't sure what to say to that. He picked at the grain of the wood on the desk and glanced at the shattered pencil on the ground. He had a relatively safe power, something meant for defence rather than attacking. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to be unable to touch people, or to unintentionally hurt someone so badly. So he breathed deeply and put up another thin barrier but this time over his entire body. He went to sit down next to Toushiro and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Toushiro pulled away instantly, eyes going wide.

"You idiot," he yelled, "Do you want to die?"

Ichigo grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. "You aren't hurting me." And he wasn't. He was cold to the touch, and Ichigo felt the air within his force field drop in temperature, but there was no ice, a little frost, but nothing dangerous. "And you looked like you needed a hug."

Toushiro deflated, closing his eyes, and allowing Ichigo to wrap his arms around his shoulders.

Toushiro was much less cold after that night, or at least he was to Ichigo and a few of his friends. He still had issues with touching people. Rukia helped him after school, and Ichigo urged him to talk to one of the teachers. It took nearly a full semester to get him to comfortably hold hands, even with his gloves on and Ichigo's force field up. But they got there, step by step, and that morning, he had convinced Toushiro to take off his gloves while they were eating.

"Hey, you can do it. I know you can."

Toushiro swallowed thickly and reached for the silver spoon. His hand was trembling and Ichigo was pretty sure that he wasn't breathing. When his fingertips brushed the metal, however, nothing happened. No frost, no surge of ice, or even condensation formed on the metal handle. Toushiro drew a sharp breath and a triumphant smile made its way on to his face. Ichigo was grinning widely as well and before he could stop himself, in one smooth motion, he guided Toushiro's face to his and planted a soft kiss to his lips. Without his force field up.

* * *

 **Thanks to Kuroneko Hikage for supplying the prompt 'Frozen'**

 **(and thanks to Nico Zi for last week's, I think I forgot to mention it)**

 **I refuse to write anything Disney based so this is what happened.**

 **Up next is Nico Zi**

 **and anyone is free to send a prompt it they want to.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	5. Speeches and Bathroom Stalls

Ichigo never would have guessed that Toushiro was shy. He commanded an entire division, he routinely yelled his lungs out at his Lieutenant, and was not one to take any crap from the other captains, his soldiers, or his boyfriend. He usually spoke his mind when it came to matters discussing the Soul Society or _Gotei_ Thirteen. But Ichigo realised all too late that he was so confident _because_ it was his job to be.

"How would you like to come with me to a work dinner?" Ichigo asked looking at him from over the back of the office couch. He placed his chin on his folded arms as Toushiro took a short while to answer.

"A work dinner?" he asked as he set aside the file he had been working on.

"The hospital is trying to get funding from some corporation and they want me to be there."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "You especially?"

Ichigo scowled playfully. "Hey, I'm the best trauma surgeon on staff."

Toushiro hummed. "Why do _I_ need to go?"

"We're supposed to bring guests. And everyone wants to meet you."

"Who wants to meet me?"

Ichigo grinned. "I talk about you a lot."

Toushiro sighed. "When is it?"

"Next Saturday."

"I'll... think about it."

Toushiro tried several times to back out, making up several flimsy excuses that were way below his usual calibre. He didn't have a good excuse not to go and Ichigo knew it. But he had also promised several of his co-workers that he would introduce them to his boyfriend that night. He talked about Toushiro a lot; every staff member knew that he was in a committed relationship with Toushiro Hitsugaya; he had even shown them pictures. But they had yet to see him in person. And as much as Toushiro didn't want to go, Ichigo wanted him to just to prove that he wasn't imaginary.

He was silent when Saturday night came around and put on his best suit with minimal resistance; Ichigo only had to help him with his bowtie. No expenses were speared for this dinner; Ichigo didn't think that he would ever be able to walk into a five-star hotel. He felt slightly overwhelmed as a valet pried his keys from fingers frozen in shock. Before stepping into the lobby, he held out his hand for Toushiro. He expected him to refuse it and waltz in with his head held high, but instead he hooked his arms around Ichigo's elbow, tucking himself into his side. Ichigo smiled at him and lead them into the banquet hall. They were instantly swept by a crowd of tuxedoes and high heels, and he felt Toushiro's grip tighten.

"Why are there so many people here?" Toushiro muttered.

Ichigo shrugged, "It's a big hospital."

Toushiro sighed. "How long do we have to stay?"

"For the whole thing I'd imagine. They did take the time to invite me, and I don't want to seem rude-"

He was cut off as a tall man with impeccably styled, grey hair came up to them. "Ichigo, glad you could make it," he smiled, clapping Ichigo on the back.

"Of course, when I saw the menu I wasn't missing this thing for the world."

The man chuckled loudly, clapping Ichigo on the back again, then turning to Toushiro. "Is this your..."

Ichigo gently nudged Toushiro forward. His shoes squeaked on the marble tiles as he stumbled slightly. "Toushiro, my boyfriend. This is Dr. Hamasaki, he works in the oncology department."

Toushiro nodded and shook Dr. Hamasaki's hand.

"Ah, it's nice to finally be able to put a face to the name-"

"You've seen him in pictures."

Dr. Hamasaki smiled again. "In person, then. Your boyfriend speaks highly of you."

Toushiro eyed Ichigo as a light blush spread across his face. "I... he..."

"It's nothing bad," Ichigo said with a smile.

That got him another chuckle. "We're starting with speeches in around twenty minutes. The chief wants us to mingle until then." He clapped Ichigo's shoulder once more then slipped away into the crowd.

Ichigo felt Toushiro's fingers dig into his arm. "You okay?"

Toushiro nodded and took a deep breath through his nose. In hindsight Ichigo should have realised that that breath hadn't been a good sign, but he after talking with Dr. Hamasaki he was too focused on meeting up with co-workers and potential sponsors. He was in the middle of a highly animated conversation with a senior anaesthesiologist and the one of the dignified guests when the chief walked up to him.

"Sorry, to interrupt," he said as he sidled up to Ichigo's side. "Ichigo, I'm going to put you on the spot here; Dr. Mizushima was supposed to do the opening speech, but she called a few minutes ago to say that she's stuck in a traffic jam."

Ichigo blinked. "You want me to do the opening speech?"

The chief nodded. "Walk with me."

"Oh, okay, uh, I guess I'll talk to you guys later." He made to pull away from the conversation, but realised that Toushiro was still hanging on to his arm. "I'll be right back, Shiro, find someone to talk to." He unwound Toushiro's arm from his and stepped away.

The fact that the chief had asked him to give the speech was an honour in itself. He wasn't even a senior staff member, but he been asked by the man himself. This certainly meant that a promotion was in his near future. Well, as long as he didn't mess this up. He wouldn't; it was just a speech, and one that he hadn't even had to write himself. Though, when he was up at the podium, and everyone was seated at their respective tables, he did a quick scan of the room, hoping to comfort himself with meeting Toushiro's gaze. But he couldn't find his boyfriend anywhere. They had been seated at table twelve at which he saw two empty seats. Instantly he began to feel nervous; where had Toushiro gone? Had he left the room, gotten lost? He shook his head and forced a smile to his face; there was no reason to panic, Toushiro could more than handle himself.

He gave the speech as best as he could, making sure to make eye contact with most of the potential sponsors. At least the chief seemed happy with him when he was done. When he sat down he immediately asked if anyone at the table had seen Toushiro. They hadn't. He slipped from the room as soon as he got the chance. He called Toushiro's cell phone and texted him when he didn't answer. He hoped to whatever god there was that there hadn't been a hollow attack. He was still crap at sensing them, and Toushiro wouldn't have disturbed him. But if it was a hollow, it shouldn't have taken him so long to get rid of it. He wondered around the lobby, asked the receptionist if he'd seen him, and was thankfully pointed to the bathroom. Although, the man said that had gone there almost half an hour ago, but he wasn't in the banquet hall so Ichigo hoped he was still in there.

He recognised Toushiro's shoes under the far stall and immediately ran over and knocked on the door.

"Shiro? Are you okay?" he asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"I... Can we go home?" he called back softly.

"Why? Are you sick?"

"... No..."

"What's wrong?"

"I... I..." he trailed off with a harsh sigh.

"You sure you're okay?"

There was no answer.

"I'll crawl under the door if I have to."

Toushiro unlocked the stall and stepped out. Ichigo instantly pulled him into a hug.

"What's wrong, baby?"

Toushiro buried his face into Ichigo's chest and took a few deep breaths. "I don't like crowds."

Ichigo frowned slightly. "There's not _that_ many people here. No one is swarming around you."

Toushiro shook his head. "There's still too many... I can't... it... makes me nervous."

Ichigo chewed the inside of his cheek. He knew that Toushiro hated crowds; he couldn't move well in them because he was so small, but the banquet hall was big enough that there was sufficient room for everyone to move around freely. Maybe Toushiro was nervous because he didn't know anyone.

"Well, everyone is eating now, so how about I introduce you to some of my friends?"

Toushiro tensed. "Can't we just go home?"

"Sorry, babe, this is too important for that."

He felt Toushiro deflate slightly, but he didn't plead any further. Back in the banquet hall, the food had already been served and he slipped easily into the friendly conversation the fellow surgeons were having.

"Hey, Ichigo, you found him?"

"Yeah," he answered smiling as Toushiro slipped into the seat next to him and began picking at the steak on his plate. "He just had to step out for a minute."

"Toushiro, right? I'm Shinichi; I don't think we've met before."

Toushiro looked up and swallowed slowly. "Hello." He glanced to Ichigo then to his plate and back to Shinichi. "I, uh... I don't think so. I'm Toushiro... but you already knew that... uh..."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow as Toushiro blushed furiously. He'd never seen Toushiro stumble over an introduction before. Thankfully, Shinichi just smiled.

"There's no need to be nervous; I don't bite."

Toushiro looked down at his plate, forcing out a severely uncomfortable laugh.

"You don't bite?" Ichigo asked raising an eyebrow.

Shinichi shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood. You didn't tell me he was shy."

Shy? He looked at Toushiro, who was rigidly perched on the edge of his chair. Toushiro wasn't shy. Not with the way he constantly told Ichigo what he was thinking, shouted at Rangiku, and ordered his division around. Sure, he was a bit awkward with people he didn't know, but he wasn't shy. Although... he was acting a bit more nervous than he usually did in unfamiliar situations. Ichigo cut a piece off from his steak, watching Toushiro poke his food with his fork.

"So, what do you do?" Shinichi asked.

"Hmmm?" Toushiro looked up, surprised. His shoulders hunched slightly and he dropped his fork to play with the napkin on his lap. "Oh... um... I... um... I work in defence-"

"Defence? Like the police?"

Toushiro looked to Ichigo who found himself frowning. Toushiro was crashing and burning and he was only two questions into a simple conversation.

"No... I..." His knuckles were white as he balled the napkin.

Ichigo reached over and covered his hands with one of his.

"He works for the government, foreign defence policies. Technically, he's not supposed to talk about his job."

Shinichi's eyebrows jumped to his hairline. "How old are you? Sorry, you just look a little young to be working for the government."

"I'm older than I look..."

"Okay, fair enough, that was a rude question."

Ichigo sighed internally. This was a very important function, but seeing how uncomfortable Toushiro was made him uncomfortable as well. Why the hell hadn't he noticed how shy he was before? He thought back to all the times he had brought Toushiro out. He had never thought twice when he made him order his food at restaurants, or how he insisted that they needed to go somewhere quiet for dates. He thought back to him clinging onto his arm earlier, and just then recognised the look on his face as fear when he had left to prepare the speech. And to top it all off he had made him come back in and socialise with one of his friends. Toushiro was going to hate him for this.

"Fuck me," he muttered.

Shinichi glanced his way with an inquisitive frown. Thinking quickly Ichigo dug his phone out of his pocket and brought it to his ear. "Uh, hi dad... can't really talk right now. I'm at... wait what happened?!" He eyed Toushiro, who had dropped his napkin and was staring at him in concern. "Is she okay?... Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." He 'hung up' and turned to Toushiro, now that the entire table was watching him. "We have to go; Karin had an accident while playing soccer. She might have a serious concussion."

Toushiro paled and stood up immediately. Ichigo nodded to Shinichi, and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, we uh..."

"I'll tell the chief you had to leave; keep my updated, okay? It was nice meeting you, Toushiro."

"Likewise," Toushiro muttered as Ichigo hurried him to the exit.

They were both silent as Ichigo drove them out of the city, but when Toushiro realised that they were heading home and not to Karin's place, or the Kurosaki Clinic, he turned to Ichigo.

"I thought that Karin-"

"Nah, I needed an excuse to get us out of there."

Toushiro blinked. "But you said that-"

"It's not _that_ important. Plus, any idiot could see how much you wanted out of there."

Toushiro sighed deeply and settled back into the seat. "Thank you, Ichigo."

* * *

 **Nico Zi liked the idea of Toushiro being shy. I agree whole-heartedly :) he'd at least be somewhat socially awkward considering his upbringing imo.**

 **up next is** **HoneyandPeanutbutterSammiches, then ShiroHalla.**

 **I'm accepting donations, so leave a prompt or idea in a review if you're interested.**

 **-Mymomomo**


	6. Love Notes and Sprained Ankles

"Another one?" Rangiku asked giggling as a note fell to the ground when Toushiro pulled his shoes out of his locker.

Toushiro rolled his eyes and stuffed the note into his bag.

"Aww, aren't you gonna read it?"

"No."

"You're no fun. Don't you want us to figure out who's sending them to you? They could end up being the love of your life."

"No."

Rangiku huffed, tugging a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm going to find out anyway."

Toushiro shrugged and headed to his classroom. If she was busy trying to figure out who had been sending him all the notes, cards, and occasional flower, she would have less time to bother him. She had the nose of a bloodhound when it came to sniffing up things like this. He was curious to see who it was, but he kind of had an idea. He'd be damned if he told Rangiku who it was that he suspected, though. She and his sister, Momo, could knock themselves out trying to figure it out.

He was almost positive that he knew who sent him the notes. There was a boy in his class, Sojiro Kusaka, who might have been friendlier than the rest of his classmates. He had his own group of friends, but he sat behind Toushiro and always started conversations whenever he got the chance.

"Hey, did you do the math homework?" he asked as Toushiro sat down.

"Yeah," Toushiro answered with a shrug. "Why?"

"Lemme see; I didn't get number 6."

He rolled his eyes and handed over his workbook. "You know, you could just ask the teacher for help."

Sojiro raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Nah, I like you better."

Toushiro had to turn around before he noticed that he was blushing. He was positive that it was who Sojiro left the notes; who else would say something like that to him? He just needed to build up the courage and ask him.

He took a deep breath. "Kusaka-"

"Here you go, thanks man." He handed Toushiro back his book and left his seat to go talk to one of his other friends.

Toushiro felt himself deflate slightly as he slid his book back into his bag. It probably wasn't Sojiro. He chewed the inside of his cheek. If anything it was one of Rangiku's ploys to, as she put it, keep his self-confidence up. He propped his chin up with his palm and stared at the blackboard, trying to ignore the way his stomach was sinking. He wasn't even sure if Sojiro liked guys.

Just before the bell rang however, Sojiro slid back into his seat and tapped Toushiro on the shoulder.

"Hey, we're starting the unit on soccer today in gym; I was wondering if you'd want to be on my team."

"Uh," Toushiro floundered for words.

"You're good at soccer, right? Come on, it'll be fun." He nudged him with his elbow. "Besides, how else am I going to repay you for letting me copy your homework so much?"

"Um, sure."

Sojiro beamed. "You're the best, man."

Okay, maybe it could be him.

They normally had gym with class 1-D, so for team sports they usually went class against class. Things were going well, for gym class. Sojiro had clapped him on the shoulder and winked before they started the game and they were up by two points. Sojiro had picked a pretty strong team; everyone had played before and knew what they were doing. He was passed the ball and immediately took off to the other team's goal. Sojiro was yelling his name and he hid a smile, focusing on the goalie, when suddenly his legs were kicked out from under him and the ball went sailing to the other side of the field. He went down hard, his left leg twisting underneath him, and the gym teacher blew his whistle, an angry, shrill screech.

"Ah crap, are you okay? I didn't mean to trip you."

Toushiro looked up fighting a blush; everyone had seen him go down. Sojiro had personally asked him to be on his team and he had tripped and lost the ball.

"Um, you didn't hit your head did you? I'm so sorry."

Toushiro shook his head. "No, my head's fine, but I think I messed up my ankle."

He locked eyes with a tall boy with bright orange hair and brown eyes. He'd seen him around before but couldn't remember his name. He winced and bent down, concern tinged with anxiety flooded his eyes.

"Crap, I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." Toushiro cut him off. For some reason he felt like he had to reassure him. "It was an accident."

"I'm still sorry..."

The gym teacher and Sojiro came running up to them.

"What was that, Kurosaki?" the teacher admonished.

Kurosaki? Toushrio had heard his name floating around the school.

"I know, I know," he mumbled, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

The teacher shook his head. "You okay, Hitsugaya?"

Sojiro was staring at Kurosaki with a raised eyebrow. Toushiro was just glad that he wasn't looking at him. "I'm fine."

"He said he hurt his ankle."

The teacher sighed heavily. "Let me see." He knelt down on the grass and took Toushiro's leg onto his lap. He tried not to wince as his ankle spasmed at the movement. "You need to go to the nurse. Kurosaki, this is your fault so help him."

"Yes sir."

He helped him to his feet and they awkwardly stood for a minute trying to figure out how this was going to work. Toushiro was too short to sling his arm around his shoulders. The dilemma was cut short, however, when Sojiro stepped in and stooped down, giving Toushiro his back.

"Hop on," he instructed.

Toushiro blushed. "No way."

"If you don't get on my back, I'm gonna carry you like a princess."

Toushiro spluttered. His face was definitely red now.

"You could always hang onto Ichigo's waist. I just thought this would be easier." Sojiro looked over his shoulder with a smug grin on his face.

Toushiro chanced a glance at Kurosaki, noticing that his cheeks were beginning to turn red as well. He sighed and wrapped his arms around Kusaka's neck, leaning against his back. Kusaka hooked his elbows around Toushiro's thighs and trotted off of the field while Kurosaki followed, scratching the back of his neck.

"I kinda feel like I should be the one carrying him," Kurosaki mumbled a few minutes later. Toushiro glanced at him.

Sojiro shrugged, hoisting Toushiro a bit higher on his back. Toushiro blushed even harder. "It's fine. He's really light. My schoolbag probably weighs more than him."

"Yeah, but this was my fault in the first place."

"I said it's fine."

"But it's really my responsibility..."

"Do you _want_ to carry him?"

"What? I..."

Toushiro rolled his eyes, pretty sure that his face was almost neon pink at this point. "Will you two stop talking about me like I'm a sack of rice?"

Sojiro scoffed. "Sorry. Which one of us do you want to carry you?"

Toushiro groaned. "Neither of you; I'd rather walk."

"Well tough luck."

Toushiro huffed and Sojiro jostled him in response.

"Stop that."

"Why? Afraid I'm going to drop you?"

"Yes."

Sojiro chuckled and bounced him up again.

"Kusaka!" Toushiro yelled, pulling away from his back just as Sojiro bounced him again. Unfortunately, he leaned too far back and while flailing to regain his balance, Sojiro lost his grip on his legs. He landed hard on the floor for the second time that day, this time feeling his lower back start to throb. He would have hit his head if Kurosaki hadn't dove to the floor, somehow managing to almost catch him. His head was cradled in his palm, his other hand wrapped around his forearm. Toushiro drew in a sharp breath, wondering why the first thing he realised was how big Kurosaki's hands were. If one hand could span the width of his skull then-

"Shit, Toushiro," Sojiro spun around his face crossed between amusement and concern. "What'd you do that for?"

Toushiro growled squirming himself upright.

"You okay?" Kurosaki asked.

Toushiro nodded as Sojiro grinned at Ichigo. "Nice catch, man."

"Nice catch?" Toushiro hissed. "I told you to stop bouncing me! I could have cracked my head open!"

"Sorry?"

Toushiro huffed as Kurosaki helped him up again. When Kusaka offered him his back, he snorted. "I'm not getting on your back."

"Fair enough." He shrugged. "Ichigo?"

Kurosaki spluttered and Toushiro noticed that his cheeks had turned pink once more.

He sighed. "Look, we're almost at the nurse's office; I can walk."

Kurosaki pulled him tightly into his side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Toushiro hooked his arm around his waist, trying not to notice that Kurosaki's hand could more or less completely wrap around his upper arm. As they hobbled along the hallway Sojiro ruffled Toushiro's hair, gently grazing his fingertips along his scalp. Toushiro had never been more confused in his life. It was if Sojiro was the master of mixed signals. But then again the blush on Ichigo's face could mean one of a few things as well.

It didn't help much when the next morning the note in his locker simply said 'sorry'.

Rangiku bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "I think I know who it is!"

Toushiro raised an eyebrow, sinking down on the wooden bench to change into his indoor shoes – well shoe. His left leg was wrapped tightly in an ace bandage and would be for about a week.

"Who?" he asked after yesterday's event he was a bit more than curious.

"Do you know Sagawa from class 1-E?"

Toushiro shook his head. "No. It's either Sojiro Kusaka or Ichigo Kurosaki."

He might as well put Ranigku to good use.

* * *

 **Got done with this one early and I didn't see the point in waiting until Saturday to update.**

 **I was originally going to do something pretty dark, but with the holidays here I didn't feel like doing that.**

 **And t** **his is an IchiHitsu series if you're still wondering who's sending the notes :)**

 **Thanks to HoneyandPeanutbutterSammiches for this week's prompt. Up next is ShiroHalla.**

 **Donations are open, so drop off your idea/prompt in a review.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	7. Hollows and Bandages

**There are some suggestive themes in this chapter. Nothing to warrant a rating change, but they're there.**

* * *

"Not tonight, Ichigo, I'm too tired," Toushiro mumbled as his boyfriend peppered his neck with kisses. They were already in bed and Toushiro had started to drift off, but Ichigo seemed to have other plans; one of his hands found its way under Toushiro's shirt.

Ichigo sighed. It was more of an annoyed rumble than anything else, but Toushiro stood by his words. It had been a long day. He had to stand through a captains' meeting that had gone on for two hours longer than it should have. Then he had to run a drill practice because he had promised Matsumoto that he would spend more time with the new recruits, and she seemed to have selective memory when it came to promises he made. The remainder of the day had him trying to wrangle next month's budget and the numbers seemed to be particularly challenging that time around. They would have to cut back on something, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Really?" Ichigo muttered, still continuing to snuggle into Toushiro. "We haven't done anything in ages." He palmed Toushiro's stomach.

Toushiro rolled his eyes and batted Ichigo's hand away before it could get any lower than his belly button. "Really."

Ichigo scowled, but pulled away.

Toushiro sighed, losing some of his resolution. "Look, I've had a long day and I know tomorrow is going to be even worse."

Ichigo pecked him on the temple. "I get it."

"If you really want to... fool around then we have all weekend."

Ichigo chuckled and curled around him, pulling the blankets up to their shoulders. "Okay. I'm gonna hold you to that. Come Friday, you're not allowed any excuses."

Toushiro rolled his eyes and kicked his shin.

...

Toushiro woke up in the middle of the night with Ichigo's hands running along his hips, and his mouth on his neck. He groaned sleepily and attempted to roll away. Ichigo followed.

"Ichigo stop," he grumbled, pushing his hands away.

Ichigo grunted, but instead of backing off he snuck his hand under Toushiro's shirt, palming his stomach and ribs. Toushiro rolled his eyes. He was way too tired to deal with Ichigo's late night antics. He rolled onto his stomach, hoping to deter Ichigo's wayward hands. Ichigo growled softly into his ear but he found himself falling back asleep, ignoring Ichigo as he groped his butt.

Toushiro kept on fading in and out of sleep. Ichigo's ministrations were relentless and despite how tired he had been he was slowly becoming more awake the more Ichigo touched him. His mouth was on his neck again, sucking, licking, and biting. He had wiggled his hands between Toushiro's chest and the mattress, and was dragging his nails along his torso. He was practically lying on top of him, and not only was it hard to breathe but he was growing annoyed.

"I said stop," he growled, shoving an elbow into Ichigo.

He didn't stop. He pulled Toushiro back onto his side. One of his arms tightened across his chest, cementing them together, while the other slowly travelled down Toushiro's body. Toushiro growled, now fully awake, and attempted to squirm out of Ichigo's grip.

"Ichigo," he spat, "I told you not tonight. Stop it!"

Ichigo's hand tightened against his chest, his fingers dug into his upper arm in a bruising grip.

"Ichigo! What the hell!"

This wasn't like him at all; he always backed off as soon as Toushiro told him to. Something was wrong. He tried to turn his head, but Ichigo growled deep in his throat and sunk his teeth into Toushiro's neck hard enough to draw blood. Toushiro froze.

"Ichigo?"

His reply was a soft cackle and the drag of fingernails down his stomach and under the waistband of his sweatpants. Toushiro brought his thighs to his chest and swore. Ichigo's _reiatsu_ was tinged with something dark and unstable; his hollow was in control. Ichigo was usually good at controlling his hollow; but he must have been tired that night as well. Or exceedingly horny, and when Toushiro had refused him the hollow had probably decided to take matters into his own hands. Toushiro growled; why did he even put up with this idiot. He would be sleeping on the couch after this. He knew that it wasn't really Ichigo's fault, but that didn't stop him from being angry. Actually, not angry livid, as the hollow dug its fingers into his thigh and he felt its nails break skin.

He clenched his jaw and released a bit of his _reiatsu_. He heard the hollow grunt as it was pushed off the bed, encased in a thin layer of frost. The night stand was knocked over and the hollow hit the floor with a loud thud. Seconds later, it was Ichigo that was groaning. Toushiro peaked over the edge of the bed while clutching his bleeding neck.

"Shiro?" Ichigo asked, rubbing the back of his head, "What-"

Toushiro snorted, flicking on the lamp on the other side of the bed. "I don't know; why don't you ask your hollow?"

Ichigo's eyes widened and he seemed to go pale. Toushiro felt some of his anger dissipate at his expression. "What did he do to you? Are you okay?"

Toushiro huffed and slid off the bed, noticing that his thigh was bleeding through his pants. "I'm fine, Ichigo. He didn't do much damage." He turned on the main light and shuffled to the bathroom.

Ichigo slowly stood up and followed him. "I'm so sorry, babe. I didn't... he doesn't – ugh we had a deal. I'm going to murder that bastard."

"It's alright," Toushiro muttered, yanking open a few drawers and pulling out the antiseptic and a few adhesive bandages.

"You're bleeding." Worry was evident in his voice.

"It's okay, Ichigo. This is nothing." He dabbed at the bite on his neck with a soaked cotton ball, wincing at the slight sting.

Ichigo came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. He bent over and rested his face against the crown of his head and breathed deeply. Toushiro could feel his chest expand against his back. He put down the antiseptic and cotton ball and placed his palms over Ichigo's hands.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Toushiro sighed, patting his hands. "It's okay. It's just a few small cuts."

"I can usually control him; I don't know what happened."

"It's okay; you were probably tired as well." Toushiro shook his head. He hadn't thought about how Ichigo would take losing control like that. He couldn't even begin to imagine having to live with a hollow inside him, always having to be on guard and overpowering it. Ichigo amazed him sometimes. He brought one of his hands to his mouth and gently kissed it.

"Help me dress this."

He turned around in Ichigo's embrace and held up the box of bandages. The corner of Ichigo's mouth flickered upwards.

* * *

 **This prompt was from ShiroHalla. I honestly don't think Ichigo's hollow would have gotten very far; Toushiro would notice instantly.**

 **Up next is NicoZi.**

 **If anyone is interested drop off prompts or ideas in a review.**

 **-Mymomomo**


	8. Lunch Dates and Funerals

**Sorry for the delay; I was caught up in finals then two very long plane rides.**

* * *

For most people, deciphering Toushiro's expressions was impossible. Ichigo had experience, which was why he could tell that his husband was feeling down on their lunch date that afternoon. There was a slight difference in the way he held himself, with his shoulders hunched and arms clasped loosely at his front instead of his usual rigid military posture. His frown was not as severe, but his lips were drawn into a thin line. He had listlessly returned Ichigo's greeting kiss and walked a few paces ahead of him. Ichigo let him have his space and only picked up a conversation when they had sat down to eat.

He sighed softly as he reached across the table and took Toushiro's hand, forcing him to set down his chopsticks and look up.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

Toushiro slowly shook his head and sighed. "It's nothing that you can help with."

Ichigo smoothed his thumbs over Toushiro's knuckles. "Maybe I can."

"Trust me; you can't."

"Will you at least tell me what's wrong? I don't like seeing you like this."

Toushiro huffed, running his free hand through his hair. "I saw Granny Haru in _Rukongai_ today."

"Granny..."

"You remember the old woman who I used to write letters to in Karakura? I visited her a few years ago and ... I don't even know how long she's been here."

Ichigo squeezed his hand, knowing where Toushiro's mind was going.

"I should have visited her more, spent time with her. I knew she was old-"

"Babe-"

Toushiro sighed and withdrew his hand. "I think I'm going back to work now."

Ichigo grabbed him as he rounded the table and pulled him onto his lap. "I think you should take the rest of the day off." He wound his arms around Toushiro's waist and perched his chin on his shoulder.

Toushiro was silent and Ichigo knew then exactly how badly he was feeling.

"I'm taking you home."

He sat with Toushiro on the couch, an arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders while the other played with his fingers. He had made him a cup of tea, but it stood forgotten on the coffee table in front of them. They sat in silence; Toushiro would talk when he was ready. Ichigo rested his cheek against the top of his head, watching as the steam from the teacup rose and dissipated in swirls. He felt Toushiro relax against him bit by bit and nuzzle into his chest. He kissed the top of his head and squeezed his hand.

Eventually, Toushiro spoke.

"She didn't remember me," he mumbled. Ichigo pressed his lips to his temple. "I didn't expect her to, but..."

"It still hurt?"

Toushiro sighed heavily. "She helped me out. When I first became a _shinigami_ , she helped me out more than she could ever know." Ichigo pulled him closer and hugged him tighter. Toushiro rested his head against Ichigo's neck. "I should have made more time to see her."

"Shiro, you barely have time to spend with me and _we're_ married. You did what you could; I think she liked getting your letters anyway."

"I did what I could, but it doesn't feel like it was enough. I don't even know how she died."

Ichigo was silent for a while. "Does that matter?"

He felt Toushiro tense.

"How is she doing in _Rukongai_? Is she happy? Has she met anyone new?"

"She seemed happy. She found a family... they looked like they were doing well."

"Well then, if she's happy I don't see any reason for you not to be as well."

Toushiro brought his feet up to the edge of the couch. "Yeah I know, but..."

Ichigo smiled slightly as he flicked a lock of hair from Toushiro's forehead and pressed his lips to it. "You miss her."

He nodded.

Ichigo pulled him onto his lap and wrapped both arms around his waist. Toushiro slung and arm around his neck and buried his face into his chest. He wouldn't cry, he very rarely cried. But he did need time to brood, to sort everything out and decide how he was going to cope with it. And Ichigo would be there until he did.

* * *

 **This is from NicoZi, up next is ShiroHalla :)**

 **Donations are open; drop them off in a review.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	9. Friends and Formalities

**1/2**

 **Double update as an apology :/**

* * *

Ichigo had called Toushiro by his given name right from the start. Technically it was a matter of respect, or disrespect in this case; he thought that Toushiro was a kid who wasn't much older than his little sisters. There was no need to be formal with someone so much younger than him and whom he barely knew. So just Toushiro it was and stayed. Even when he found out that he wasn't some _shinigami's_ kid who had gotten lost, but an actual captain, it just didn't feel right to call him Captain or Hitsugaya. He was short, he looked young, and everything about him screamed child. Granted Ichigo knew that he was a captain for a reason, but he felt that there was something wrong with putting a kid in such a position. He must have hated it; he always looked so angry and tired and was always so curt.

Then he actually met Toushiro.

The captain was young yes, but not nearly as young as Ichigo had made him out to be. And he was proud that he was a captain. All those annoyed reminders had been sincere and not a drilled formality. But he was just still Toushiro. They weren't particularly close, but it somehow felt wrong to call him by his family name, as so many others did. But honestly, his given name just slipped out, even when Ichigo tried to be a bit more polite. Ichigo never gave it a second thought. Until he thought back on how they met. He surmised that there was no one who looked to be Toushiro's age around the _Seireitei_. The people who were closest in age were Rukia, Renji, and their group, but they seemed ages older than him and he also had an older sister their age. The next was Yachiru and it was obvious why they weren't friends. Then there was the fact that he was a captain and had to work with adults who were centuries older than him on a daily basis. He didn't need any more formalities; he needed a friend.

Ichigo made it his goal to be his friend.

He succeeded after some years, when Toushiro stopped insisting he called him Captain Hitsugaya. He wasn't sure if Toushiro had just given up on correcting him or if it didn't matter to him any more, but he wasn't going to question it. He actually hadn't realised that Toushiro didn't correct him that time. He had more or less tuned out the automatic 'it's Captain Hitsugaya' so had gone on for a few minutes before he noticed. He paused, then tilted his head and smiled. Toushiro knew exactly why he was smiling and when Ichigo asked him about it he blushed slightly, saying that if they were friends then there was no need for such formalities. Though he didn't start calling Ichigo by his first name for a while longer. (Right before the started to date, to be precise.)

* * *

 **This one is a bit short because it's more of a character study than a story. It was fun to come up with a reason for that particular inconsistency.**

 **Thanks to ShiroHalla for the donation :)**


	10. Virgins and Movie Dates

**Part 2/2**

 **Note: I don't really want to change the rating of the entire story for just one chapter, but there are a few phrases, themes, innuendos, and what have you that are toeing the T-rated line. Even though this is the SFW version, feel free to skip if you're not into this stuff.**

* * *

They had been making out on the couch for some time now. Toushiro on Ichigo's lap the movie credits played on the TV in front of them. Neither of them had realised that the movie had ended; it hadn't been that great anyway and Toushiro hadn't complained when Ichigo found other ways to entertain himself. It started with Ichigo tracing patterns along Toushiro's arms and thighs, then he examined his hands, weaving their fingers together and kissing his knuckles, then a few playful kisses along his neck and jaw, and finally Ichigo swung Toushiro into his lap. Toushiro quickly reciprocated; the movie falling to the back of his mind almost instantly.

Ichigo's hands slipped under Toushiro's pants, kneading his butt and pushing them closer together. Their breath hot and heavy, mingling as they parted from a deep kiss only seconds before rejoining. Toushiro dragged his nails up the back of Ichigo's shirt, the light cotton catching on his defined muscles. He smiled into the kiss when he felt Ichigo's breath hitch as he dipped his fingertips into one of the dimples at the base of his spine. Ichigo nipped at his bottom lip and shifted on the couch, causing Toushiro to slide higher on his lap. His legs were trapped between Ichigo's hips and the back of the couch, and the tighter Ichigo gripped him the more he could feel through his thin pyjama bottoms. They were both pretty aroused. He could tell, by the bulge at the front of his pants, that Ichigo was feeling the same hot, knot in his stomach that he was. He broke the kiss and rested his face to the side of Ichigo's neck and breathed heavily. The room was sweltering; but he tightened his hands around Ichigo's waist anyway. He felt Ichigo's throat bob as he swallowed.

"Should... should we take this to the bedroom?"

Toushiro felt himself tense and took a few deep breaths to calm down. He and Ichigo had reached that point in their relationship – Ichigo sooner than him. They had been a couple for almost a year and recently Ichigo had been hinting at wanting to make things more 'intimate'. Toushiro wasn't as naive as most people made him out to be, but he didn't think that he was ready to sleep with Ichigo. At least not then. And Ichigo, more perceptive than most people thought, sat Toushiro down to discuss their relationship and what both of them wanted. He knew that he was Toushiro's first boyfriend and that he wasn't experienced with relationships, so he agreed that he would wait until Toushiro was sure that he was ready to take the next step. But even though Toushiro was nervous, he didn't want to keep Ichigo waiting. He knew theoretically there was nothing to be afraid of. It might hurt the first time, but he trusted that Ichigo knew what he was doing. He had his fair share of partners, both male and female, during his undergrad years. Actually the number wasn't that impressive, but compared to Toushiro's scant zero he was an expert.

Ichigo squeezed him softly. "If you don't want to, Shiro, it's okay-"

He took another deep breath. "No... I think I'm ready."

Ichigo craned his neck back to look at his face. "Are you sure?"

Toushiro nodded.

Ichigo pecked him on his nose. "Are you really sure?"

He huffed. "Do you want me to change my mind?"

Ichigo chuckled. "Gods no." He ran his fingers up Toushiro's spine and pecked his lips once more before urging him off the couch.

Toushiro had never felt so clumsy in his life. He tripped over his feet on the way to the bedroom while his heart was pounding, his fingers numb, and his mouth dry. He clambered onto Ichigo's bed, completely unsure of what to do, and watched as his boyfriend sauntered in and switched on the bedside lamp. He sat down on the bed next to Toushiro and guided his face to his. He kissed the side of his mouth then pulled back slightly.

"Nervous?" he asked.

Toushiro fixed him a flat look. Of course he was nervous; he had never done this before. What if he was bad at it, what if he got hurt, what if Ichigo got hurt, what if –

"Hey," Ichigo stroked his cheek. "There's nothing to be nervous about; it's gonna feel good, okay?"

Toushiro let out a long breath and tilted his face into Ichigo's hand. "Okay."

Ichigo smiled, eyes sparkling in the low light, and he leaned in for a kiss. Toushiro wrapped his arms around Ichigo's neck and forced himself to relax. His stomach was still bubbling, however. Ichigo guided him to the centre of the bed while kissing along his jaw-line and hovered over him as he settled onto his back. He caressed the side of Toushiro's face with a wide smile on his lips. Toushiro felt himself blush.

"What?" he asked.

"Gods, you're beautiful."

He blushed deeper and squirmed a bit.

"Let's get you undressed."

...

"If I step on that condom tomorrow, you're not going to here the end of it," Toushiro warned.

Ichigo chuckled tiredly and lay back down, wrapping himself around Toushiro. "I love you, baby."

Toushiro couldn't do much else than mumbled in agreement. He fell asleep to Ichigo gently kissing the side of his neck.

He did step on the condom the next morning and nearly fell over because his lower back and his ass were sore. Ichigo woke up to him yelling and had the decency to look slightly guilty. He picked him up and carried him to the bathroom and made up for it by running him a warm bath and washing every bit of him. And they may or may not have had a second round in the tub.

* * *

 **The full version is posted to my tumblr. (Link is in my profile)**

 **Thanks to Nico Zi for this one :)**

 **Donations are still open and now that Christmas is over I should be updating regularly once more**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	11. Oxygen Masks and Borrowed Sweaters

They moved in with Ichigo's dad, with not much more than the clothes they were already wearing. No one had to help them move in. Ichigo's old bedroom was pretty much how he had left it before college, blue bed sheets, a small desk, and plenty space in the closet. Not that they would need it. Ichigo sat on the twin bed and bent over to hold his head in his hands. He had no idea what they were going to do now. Everything was gone. Everything he had worked for, had built for himself. He took a shuddering breath and pulled his hair. He didn't think that there was any coming back from this.

The door opened and shut softly as light footsteps prodded over to the bed.

"How're you doing?" Toushiro voice was rough like an elderly smoker's.

Ichigo shook his head and he felt Toushiro rest his cheek against his shoulder.

"We're okay and we're going to be okay."

"How can you be so calm?" Ichigo growled, letting go of his hair and fisting his borrowed sweat pants. "We lost everything; doesn't it mean a thing to you?"

He felt Toushiro tense and he let out a heavy sigh. When he looked up, Ichigo was surprised to see that his eyes were watery.

Ichigo swallowed as he sat up and stared. "Shiro?"

He took a deep breath and flung himself against Ichigo's chest. He wound his arms around Ichigo's waist and buried his face into his shirt.

"Shiro?"

He took a heaving breath. "I didn't lose you. Of course, I'm scared of what's going to happen. I don't know how we're going to make it back from this. But if I focus on that I can't… I can't. I could have lost you as well…"

Ichigo pulled him close. He still smelt strongly of smoke, and Ichigo felt a pang in his chest. While he had showered and changed Toushiro had been on the phone with the insurance company. While he had sat in a daze in the waiting room Toushiro had called his father. While he had been checked over by the paramedics Toushiro gave his statement to the firemen. He hadn't given himself time to think about what was going to happen. He had just been trying to keep the both of them safe.

Toushiro's shoulders were shaking ever so slightly and Ichigo pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll run you a bath," he mumbled.

Toushiro nodded.

Ichigo didn't remember much of what happened the night before. He had been exhausted from his shit at the hospital and almost dead to the world. Toushiro had shaken him awake and at once he began to cough on smoke. Their apartment had been full of it. They assumed that the fire was in the hallway outside their apartment. So, Toushiro had pushed him into the furthest corner of their room and curled around him. Sirens were already blearing in the distance. It took the fireman an agonising fifteen minutes to comb through the building to find them. Their lungs had been filled with smoke and they had nearly suffocated, but Toushiro refused an oxygen mask until he saw Ichigo safely inside the ambulance. Ichigo pulled a pillow to his stomach and curled around it. He was wearing his dad's clothes now, but he would have been dead if it wasn't for Toushiro, and the _amazing_ man had somehow found the sanity and time to shove both of their wallets and car keys into a pillow case. They had lost the apartment and everything in it, but at least they still were connected to their bank accounts and could still drive. And they were both still alive, even if they would be wheezing and coughing up smoke for a few weeks.

Toushiro stumbled back into the room wearing a pair of Karin's old sweat pants and one of Yuzu's oversized knit sweaters. His eyes were rimmed with red though. Ichigo rolled over to give him room on the bed and wrapped his arms around him when he slid under the sheets. His hair now smelt of the twin's apricot shampoo.

"Yeah," Ichigo mumbled, "We're going to be okay."

* * *

 **Did I say that I was back to regular updates? Whoops.**

 **This chapter was brought to you by geishaaa :)**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	12. Chiran Sencha and Exes

"You know, you're the only one who's ever asked what I wanted to do..."

Ichigo grinned, sliding his hand across the table to hold Toushiro's own. "You're easy, though, you only ever want to do one of two things. Watch documentaries or come to this tea house."

"That's not true," Toushiro coughed, "I like other things."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "I bet you that I can guess what you're going to order."

"Shut up. You can't." Toushiro looked down at the menu. "Just for that I'm choosing something different."

"Oh, so you do know that's a word."

Toushiro scowled but then paused, looking from the leather bound menu to Ichigo. "You..." he started then trailed off, shaking his head.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

They were silent for a while. Toushiro studied the menu items with new vigour and Ichigo watched him with growing confusion.

"You do know I was joking, right?" he asked, reaching across the table to cover Tosuhiro's menu with his palms. "If you want the Chiran Sencha and chicken soboro donburi then order it. Don't listen to me; I'm being dumb."

Toushiro shook his head. "It's not that." He set the menu down and chewed the inside of his cheek. "Do you think I'm boring?"

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What? No. No no no. I didn't mean it like that; I was only teasing. You're... just very predictable - I like that about you. I – I –I know what to expect."

Toushiro hummed softly. "Is that a good thing?"

Ichigo snorted. "I've had enough spontaneity to last me quite some time now. You're a breath of fresh air. Something easy."

"Easy-"

"Gods, not easy... that was a bad word. Uh, you're like a marble pillar; when everything else goes bat-shit crazy, I know that you're the one thing that can ground me."

"Oh." A smile flickered across Toushiro's face and Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.

They had made it back Ichigo's apartment before Toushiro's first sentence that night registered in Ichigo's mind. He stood in the doorway as Toushiro put the leftovers in the fridge then shrugged off his jacket, glancing at Ichigo when he realised the he was blocking the way to the bedroom.

"Wait," he tilted his head and Toushiro raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "You said I was the only one who asked you what you wanted. The only one of what?"

"Oh... uh..." Toushiro's cheeks turned pink and he folded his jacket over his forearms. "B-boyfriends?"

Ichigo frowned. "I'm not your first?"

"Don't say it like that, Ichigo." He sighed. "I'm not _your_ first either."

"Yeah, but you're my longest,"

"You must know what that sounds like-"

"And you knew about those."

Toushiro grumbled and walked around him to plop himself on the ratty couch. "I wasn't trying to keep it a secret. You just assumed that I didn't date anyone before you."

Ichigo opened his mouth to argue, but closed it with a snap and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, swinging his legs up underneath him to face Toushiro. Toushiro mirrored his position.

"Fine then, who was he? Do I know him?"

Toushiro bit his bottom lip. "I don't think so. His name was Kusaka and it was a mutual break-up, if you must know."

Ichigo hadn't asked and he knew that Toushiro only offered information when he was lying. "Was it? Was it really?"

Toushiro glared at him for a minute then sighed and rubbed his forehead. "No."

"Toushiro-"

"He dumped me."

"I'm sorry-"

He waved him off. "It was ages ago. It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters; what did that asshole do to you?"

Toushiro shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

Ichigo folded his arms across his chest. "It matters; I want to know what I'm beating this guy up for."

"You will do no such thing, Ichigo."

"Hey, you got hurt; someone has to pay."

Toushiro scowled. "What if you hurt me?"

"I would never forgive myself and I don't intend to."

Toushiro sighed, shaking his head, then crawled along the length of the couch and manoeuvred himself into Ichigo's lap. He leaned against Ichigo's chest and pulled his arms over his shoulders. Ichigo wordlessly complied.

"He said that I was... boring, our relationship was boring. He told me that if I couldn't learn to like what he did then we shouldn't be together anymore."

"What an asshole. Did he try to do what you liked?"

Toushiro shook his head. "No. I mean, I didn't realise it at the time, but he always planned our dates, randomly showed up to bring me places and make try new things."

Ichigo snorted. "You hate that."

"... I don't hate it; I just need information before hand. He said I was stuck in a routine and he didn't think he could be with me any longer."

"Bastard," Ichigo growled. "Routine's aren't a bad thing."

Toushiro shrugged. "I know it can be frustrating when you want to try new things and I say no-"

"It wasn't your fault, Toushiro. Did he ever try something that you liked?"

"I... I don't remember; he kept on coming up with new ideas, hoping that I would enjoy one of them."

"But did he talk to you about it?"

Toushiro huffed.

"That sounds really selfish to me."

"He tried his best, Ichigo. I'm not easy to please."

"Stop defending him, and that's bullshit. Then how do I know that you like jasmine tea after a long day at work? Or that you are addicted to watching documentaries? Or that when you're having a bad day a bouquet of flowers makes you smile? That spicy food makes you sick and soy milk gives you headaches? Geez, you're not some kind of puzzle. And even if you were, your boyfriend should take the time to figure it out."

Toushiro was silent for a minute before turning to face Ichigo. They stared at each other for a while then Toushiro closed the gap, sealing their lips together.

"You're right," Toushiro mumbled when they broke apart. He wound his arms loosely around Ichigo's neck.

"'Course I am," Ichigo huffed, bumping their noses together lightly. "Now where does this guy live so I can go beat him up?"

"You are not doing that."

He kissed him again to stop him.

* * *

 **Well I totally missed the Saturday deadline, but here I am now.**

 **Thanks to Nico Zi for donating this prompt. There will be one day where I don't use Kusaka as the skeezy ex-boyfriend... I don't hate him, but he's convenient.**

 **Forgot to say last time, but donations are open; leave your prompt off in a review if you so desire :)**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	13. Toast and Fuzzy Sweaters

Toushiro pulled on one of Ichigo sweaters. It fell to his mid thigh and the sleeves flopped past his fingertips. Ichigo hoarded sweaters. There were athletic ones, wool ones, thin, cotton ones, chunky knitted ones, and a few cardigans. He had fancy ones with floppy turtle-necks and buttons, ones with hideous patterns, and ones that were a soft as cotton candy.

Toushiro chose one of the softest ones he could find, a cream one with maroon stitching. It was a gloomy day out, the winter chill had finally begun to settle into the earth, and they hadn't planned on doing anything today. He pulled the neck to his nose and breathed in deeply; Ichigo's clothes almost smelt spicy; like cinnamon and fire. He smiled as he rolled the sleeves back a few times and glanced at his sleeping boyfriend. It was still too early for him to wake up, so Toushiro decided to get started on breakfast.

Omelettes were simple enough to make, and Ichigo didn't have ingredients for anything else. As he slid the second one from the frying pan he felt a strong arm wrap around his waist.

"That's a beautiful sight, but try not to get my sweater dirty, please," Ichigo mumbled placing his chin on the top of Toushiro's head.

"I won't."

Ichigo buried his nose in his hair. "Why do you always go straight for my clothes anyway?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "It was cold."

"And yet you're not wearing pants."

"Your pants don't fit me."

"What about your pants?"

"I don't want to wear my pants."

Ichigo chuckled. "And that's why I need so many clothes; my wardrobe has to dress two people."

"Make some tea." Toushiro said as he set the two omelettes on the table and opened one of the cupboards to grab a loaf of bread. But, even stretching up on his tip toes he couldn't reach the shelf. He huffed in annoyance. "Ichigo."

Ichigo glanced over his shoulder, eyeing the open cupboard and the bread on the top shelf. "You can reach that."

Toushiro folded his arms across his chest. "Fine then. No toast."

Ichigo spooned one last bit of leaves into the teapot then turned around with a wide grin on his face. "You're so tiny."

Toushiro scowled. "I made you _breakfast_."

"It's not an insult, but you are wearing my sweater as a dress."

"Just get the bread, idiot."

He chuckled again and crossed the kitchen in a few quick strides. Toushiro scowled when he barely had to stretch to reach the top shelf. He held the bread aloft and with a wicked grin stepped backwards. Toushiro sighed.

"I'm not playing this game, Ichigo. Give it."

He shook his head.

"The eggs will go cold."

He just smiled. Toushiro pushed himself from the counter and took a menacing step towards him.

"Ichigo," he growled then sighed heavily. His boyfriend was such a child sometimes. He jumped, fingers brushing Ichigo's biceps, but he just extended his arm into the air. "Ichigo!"

There was no way he was getting the bread by jumping; Ichigo had nearly two feet on him. Growling softly, he braced his hands on Ichigo's shoulders and jumped. Ichigo hadn't expected that and stumbled backwards, bumping into the counter as his free arm instantly hooked under Toushiro's thighs. Toushiro tightly wrapped his legs around his waist.

"Are you _climbing_ me?"

"Yes, now give me the damn bread."

Ichigo chuckled, placing the bread on the counter behind him and placed his other hand under Toushiro's butt. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to Toushiro's. Toushiro sighed softly through his nose before tilting his head slightly to deepen the kiss. Ichigo hoisted him higher against his abdomen and Toushiro wrapped his arms around his neck.

"You know, you could have just asked for a good morning kiss," Toushiro mumbled when they parted. He rested his head against Ichigo's neck and breathed in deeply.

* * *

 **This prompt was from a guest reviewer :)**

 **Up next we have Nico Zi then Corisanna.**

 **As always you can donate by reviewing.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	14. Hollow Masks and Coffee Creamer

Ichigo hadn't been there when Toushiro had taken Kisuke's pill in order to steal Hyourinmaru back from the Quincy. He learnt about the hollowfication later. He was watching Toushiro meditate with Hyourinmaru, sitting straight-backed and cross-legged with Hyourinmaru stuck into the ground in front of him. Toushiro would sometimes meditate for hours at a time, especially while he was still recovering. Ichigo would happily watch him for a few minutes; the way his expression slackened into something peaceful was calming. But this time after sitting down for only ten minutes or so he began to frown and fidget, then he stood up, ripping Hyourinmaru from the ground and sheathing him on his back.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he watched Toushiro pace in a tight circle, wearing down a small path in the courtyard outside his sleeping quarters. He was lightly chewing the inside of his cheek, and rhythmically clenching and unclenching his palms. Ichigo knew that look. He stood up and stepped into Toushiro's path.

"What's wrong?" he asked when Toushiro nearly bumped into his chest.

Toushiro looked up at him and schooled his expression back to his default blank. "I'm just thinking through something."

"I know, but what's wrong?"

Toushiro huffed. "I... I think I might be a _visored_ now."

"Um... what?" Ichigo tilted his head sideways, his mouth hung open.

Toushiro sighed heavily and grabbed Ichigo's hand, leading him to his room. Once the door was slid shut and Ichigo was seated on the futon he turned to him and repeated:

"I might be a _visored_ now."

Ichigo blinked a couple of times, hearing the words but not understanding them.

Toushiro, very familiar with Ichigo's blank look, sighed and took a step backwards. He covered his face with his palm. When he looked up the area around his left eye and cheekbone was covered by a bone white mask that extended into dragon like ears. Ichigo shot up from the futon, ready to draw Zangetsu, when the mask disappeared in a puff of black smoke. He stared at Toushiro, his hand on the hilt of Zangetsu. Neither of them moved.

Ichigo understood now. "What the fuck!"

Toushiro held up his hands. "Calm down, Ichigo, it's not dangerous."

"The hell it's not! What's going on?"

Toushiro slowly shook his head as he unhooked Hyourinmaru from his back and set him on his stand in the corner of the room. "Urahara came up with a way for us to get back out _zanpakuto_ spirits from the Quincy. It involved having them hollowfy for a few seconds so the Quincy's would reject them." He paused, turning to face Ichigo and folding his arms across his chest. "However, Hyourinmaru is still a hollow."

Ichigo's eyes bulged the same time he felt his stomach sinking. He lowered his arm and ran it along the back of his neck. If Toushiro was a _visored_ now, then that meant he and Hyurinmaru were... he swore again. That was the last thing he wanted. The war was over they were supposed to be at peace. Toushiro was supposed to be taking it easy. He shouldn't have to fight for his life yet again and with his _zanpakuto_ spirit nevertheless. He looked to him. Toushiro hard turned away, gazing at Hyourinmaru and running his fingertips across the sheath. "Shiro," he sighed, already feeling overwhelmed for him. "Have you talked to Urahara about it?"

Toushiro turned to him again. "I have. He's looking into it."

Ichigo took a deep breath, feeling his stomach knot itself. "Well... shit." He crossed the room and pulled Toushiro to his chest, hugging him tightly. "It'll be alright, babe. We'll work through this."

"I know."

"We can get Shinji and the others to train you. You don't have to worry at all."

Toushiro pulled away from the hug. "Ichigo, I'm not worried."

He smiled and stooped down to kiss his forehead. "Of course you aren't." He cupped his chin with both palms and placed a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. Always so brave; he must have been scared shitless, but as usual was trying his best to hide it. "It's scary, I know, to have a monster inside of you, but I promise..." he trailed off as Toushiro raised an eyebrow. Ichigo studied his face for a few seconds. He really wasn't worried. His brow held no tension, his jaw was relaxed, and there was just a tiny spark of amusement in his eyes. "Okay, I'm confused."

Toushiro snorted softly and shook his head. He raised a hand and ran it through Ichigo's hair then draped his arms around his neck. "It was my choice. I don't regret it and neither does Hyourinmaru."

Ichigo wordlessly set Zangetsu next to Hyourinmaru's stand, leaning him against the wall, then took Toushiro's hand and guided him to the futon. There was a lot they needed to talk about apparently.

He pulled Toushiro onto his lap. "So, I'm going to assume that he's _not_ trying to take over your body."

Toushiro nodded. "This wasn't at all like your situation. There was no power struggle between us; Hyourinmaru was just as glad to be back as I was to have him back. It was worth the ramifications."

"But it wasn't supposed to be permanent."

"No... But I don't mind it."

Ichigo clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. "You're way too calm about this. You freaked out when I started buying a different brand of _coffee creamer_ ; you can't expect me to believe that you're 100 percent okay with this."

"Hyourinmaru and I have been thinking a lot. I thought I'd be more upset about it too, but I'm not. It doesn't put me or anyone else in any danger and if anything it has strengthened our bond."

"So you _were_ upset about it."

"At the beginning, yes. But I've had time to think and I stand by my decision that it was the best thing I could have done given the situation."

Ichigo let out a deep breath. He set his hands on Toushiro's waist and rested his forehead to his shoulder. "I still want to talk to Shinji about it."

"That's understandable, but I assure you I'm fine."

"So what was that pacing about earlier?"

Toushiro stiffened slightly. "I was trying to figure out how to tell you. I didn't want to keep it a secret, but I know what you went through with your hollow and I didn't want to cause you to panic." He ran his fingers through Ichigo's hair again then rested his cheek to the top of his head.

"You really need to stop thinking about me when you should be concerned with yourself."

"I was in no danger. You on the other hand would overreact. You did overreact."

Ichigo pulled back, straightening and rolling his eyes. "I reacted the perfect amount. We're not with Shinji right now, are we?"

* * *

 **Thanks to Crosianna for this (very detailed) prompt. Hope I did it justice :)**

 **Drop your prompts off in a review if you have any**

 **-Mymomomo**


	15. Textbooks and Breakups

It was bound to come up sooner or later. They had been skirting around the topic for a while now, especially when it became harder for Ichigo to come to the _Seireitei_ and Toushiro to the world of the Living. Ichigo had started med school and Toushiro was up to his ears in paperwork and training. They sometimes went days without talking and weeks without seeing each other. Toushiro didn't think that anything was terribly wrong with this, but then he realised that he hadn't really noticed. Then he began to feel something sink in his stomach.

Toushiro managed to find time one night to visit Ichigo. Ichigo knew he was coming over, but some friends from his university had planned to come over to work on one of their project together. The deadline was soon, so he couldn't cancel on them and Toushiro was understanding enough to share his boyfriend. He mostly sat in silence as Ichigo and his friends passed around text books and complained about their professors. His stomach tied itself into a knot.

He watched as Ichigo buried his face behind his note book when one of his friends did an impression which Toushiro didn't understand. He barely understood all of the medical references, but when they called out classmates and reminisced about weeks gone by he was completely lost. Even when Ichigo tried to explain some of the jokes to him, he didn't get it, and Ichigo gave up, saying that it was a had-to-be-there moment. So, he pretended to get a phone call from the Seireitei, and retreated to the bedroom until Ichigo's friend's left. This was what had happened to Ichigo in two weeks. He didn't even recognise half of the people in the living room. He couldn't fit into Ichigo's busy lifestyle when he could barely find time to stand up from his desk. Ichigo was going to finish med school before he even made a dent in his stack of paperwork. He was going to become a doctor before he could finish the budget report. He was going to start getting grey hair before Toushiro could fully train the new recruits. His stomach churned and twisted and went ice-cold.

It had been a very long time since Toushiro had felt so left out. He couldn't relate to anything when he had no idea what was going on. He felt a pang in his chest; this was what Ichigo's life really was like. He wasn't just a substitute _shinigami_ ; he had something else that Toushiro just didn't fit into. Toushiro scratched the back of his neck and sighed heavily. They would need to talk about this and it wasn't going to be an easy conversation.

"I don't think this is going to work, Ichigo," Toushiro sighed as he and Ichigo listlessly tidied up the living room later that night.

Ichigo froze, holding a half-empty bag of chips in a death grip. "Are you talking about what I think you are?" he asked after a while.

Toushiro breathed deeply through his nose. "Our relationship."

Ichigo licked his lips. "Why?"

"We are from two completely different worlds."

"Like I haven't heard that before. So were my parents."

"Their situation was entirely different from ours."

"How?" Ichigo asked fiercely. The chip bag crinkled loudly in the silence that followed.

"For one, you're not in any immediate danger. You don't need me-"

"I need you."

"Not like that."

"We both knew that this was going to be a bit difficult and really weird, and we decided that we were going to try anyway."

"We tried-"

"We're _still_ trying!"

Toushiro sighed softly and shook his head. "It isn't working, Ichigo. This night just proved it; I had no idea what was going on and I couldn't relate to anything."

"Because we have a lot of inside jokes. I didn't expect you to understand them."

Toushiro rubbed his temples as he sat down on the couch. "That's not it..."

Ichigo sat down next to him. "Then what is?"

"Do you ever think of the future?" he asked after a while.

Ichigo swallowed and roughly brushed his hair for his forehead. "I know where you're going with this and I told you before that I don't care."

"You have to care," Toushiro barked, turning to look at him. "I don't want you to... waste your life just because I can't be part of it."

"I'm not wasting-"

"We hadn't seen each other in two weeks."

"So what? That's expected; you're a world away."

Toushiro shook his head, clutching his knees tightly and bunching up the fabric of his pants. "What happened during those two weeks?"

"What?"

"Did you learn new things in class, make new friends, and go to new places?"

"I guess... but what does that-"

"I did none of those things. I sat at my desk and did paperwork."

"You have a _job_ -"

"No... I'm trying to say that time passes differently for us. Your life is going to pass in a fraction of mine. Are you okay wasting it waiting for me?"

"Of course-"

"No. Think about it."

Ichigo blinked a few times before hunching over his knees and pressing his knuckles into his temples. "I missed you. Gods, I missed you so badly."

Toushiro sighed again. "I know, I can't stand the thought of you suffering... of me causing you to suffer." He swallowed. "I didn't even notice that two weeks had passed, and that's why this isn't going to work."

"So what?"Ichigo asked quietly, "Do we just end it now?"

Toushiro covered his face with his hands, feeling his throat tighten. He took a loud shaky breath.

"Why are you crying; _you're_ the one breaking up with _me_?" Ichigo asked bitterly.

"It's hard," he choked out. "It's hard and it's unfair."

"I don't want to breakup." Ichigo scrubbed his eyes and scooted closer to Toushiro, wrapping an arm around him.

"We have to, it won't work."

"I know."

Toushiro looked up at him. His brown eyes were glassy and his jaw was clenched tightly. Toushiro swallowed, feeling a single hot tear break free from his eye and leaned up into Ichigo.

The kiss was wet and salty.

* * *

 **This was donated by BTRE3lover :)**

 **Here's to a healthy dose of reality.**

 **Up next we have Daygon Yuuki, then Chibi Envy Chan, then Azumi Ojima.**

 **As always, if you want to donate a prompt shoot me a review with your idea.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	16. Trust and Training

**1/2**

* * *

True to his word, Ichigo brought Toushiro to see Shinji. Toushiro wasn't very happy about it; he had agreed, but Ichigo had dragged him away from his office while he was in the middle of reading through a report that was due in two days.

He stood stiffly as Shinji eyed him up and down. Ichigo stood to the side, chewing the inside of his cheek.

"Well, this is interesting," Shinji said at last stepping back and shoving his hands into his sleeves.

Toushiro folded his arms across his chest. "Interesting how?"

He shrugged a single shoulder. "You are technically a visored, but you and Hyourinmaru have already reached some sort of agreement without any training."

Toushiro turned to his boyfriend. "I told you. There's nothing to worry about."

Shinji made a sound at the back of this throat. Both Ichigo and Toushiro turned to him.

"What?" Toushiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you should still train. You know get used to this knew Hyourinmaru, learn your limits."

Toushiro narrowed his eyes. "He's not going to turn on me, if that's what you're concerned about."

"Well-"

"He's not."

"Hollows are unpredictable."

"Hyourinmaru is not a hollow-"

"He is now, Shiro. The pill was supposed to be temporary..." Ichigo mumbled, shaking his head.

Toushiro took a deep breath. "I don't need training. Hyourinmaru and I have been working together for almost a century now." He turned to leave.

"I think you should still test the waters, Captain Hitsugaya," Shinji sighed.

"I trust Hyourinmaru. He will not hurt me."

"Shiro, at least consider it."

"No."

Ichigo sighed and quickly apologised to Shinji before trotting to catch up with his boyfriend.

He tried over the course of the next two weeks to convince Toushiro to train with Shinji, but he was firm in his decision. Eventually, frustrated with Toushiro's stubbornness, Ichigo cornered him at his desk. He pushed all his papers into a messy pile and took their place. Toushiro glared at him in irritation, but with Ichigo sitting cross-legged on top of his desk he couldn't do much else.

"I'm not going to train with Hirako. End of discussion."

"It's not 'end of discussion'. Shiro, it's for your safety."

"I trust Hyourinmaru.

"Hyourinmaru is a hollow."

Toushiro clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you scared?" Ichigo tried a new approach.

Toushiro took a deep breath and sat back. "No."

They were going in circles. "Then why-"

"You must realise how insulting this is. Hyourinmaru is my _zanpakuto_ , he's a part of me. You and Hirako are both insinuating that I can't control my own powers."

"We're not, babe. I'm just worried, hollows are not... they need a reason to submit to you and-"

"Was our life or death situation not enough then? If Hyourinmaru didn't hollowfy I would have died and he would still belong to that Quincy."

"I'm not saying that... but he's still a hollow-"

"He's my _zanpakuto_ first."

Ichigo sighed. "Shiro, this isn't a matter of pride. It's what's best for you."

Toushiro bristled. "When you say you don't trust Hyourinmaru, you might as well be saying that you don't trust me."

"That's not true."

Toushiro snorted.

Ichigo sighed and scratched the back of his neck, unsure what to say. They stared at each other for a few minutes. Toushiro's jaw was set; he wasn't going to give in any time soon.

"Shiro, I trust you... it's just that hollows make me nervous. I know Hyourinmaru is part of you. But so what my hollow and I had to go to hell and back because of him. I know you feel confident, but I can't help but worry about you. Please, please let Shinji train you."

Toushiro groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But this is just for you."

* * *

 **This prompt was donated by Daygon Yuuki**

 **-Mymomomo**


	17. Cute Faces and Cockatiels

**2/2**

* * *

"He looks... happy," Toushiro said, frowning slightly as he regarded the bird in its cage.

"Is that a bad thing?" Ichigo asked, watching as his new cockatiel was attacking his dinner and dropping seed shells all over the bottom of the cage.

"No..." Toushiro mumbled, tilting his head to the side. "You just don't strike me as a bird person."

Ichigo chuckled. "I couldn't resist that face. Look at his little, red cheeks."

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you. I send you out for pain medication and you come back with a bird."

"I gave you the Aleeve, didn't I? Not my fault that the pet store is on the way to the pharmacy and this little guy was on display."

"You have no will power, Ichigo."

"He was whistling at me."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "You bought a bird because it cat-called you?"

"No! no." Ichigo blushed slightly. "He did this," He whistled a short tune and the cockatiel tilted it's head, dropping the seed it had in it's mouth, and whistled the same tune back. "See, now tell me that isn't adorable."

Toushiro shook his head and the bird let out a few soft chirps. "I hope he doesn't get too loud."

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. "Do you still have a headache?"

"It's not too bad now; don't worry about it."

Ichigo winced and pulled Toushiro into a one armed hug, placed a soft kiss to his temple. "Sorry, babe, I didn't think."

Toushiro leaned against Ichigo's chest and watched the bird as it went back to flinging it's food around the cage. "No, but it's okay. I understand why you got so excited. what's his name?"

Ichigo kissed his temple again. "We can keep him?"

Toushiro took a deep breath through his nose. "Why the hell not?"

* * *

 **This chapter was from Chibi Envy Chan**

 **Up next is Azumi Ojima then Corisanna.**

 **Prompt donations are welcome.**

 **-Mymomomo**


	18. Spies and Discipline

Captains' meetings were usually almost always boring. Once the _Seireitei_ wasn't in a state of panic the meetings were just protocol. They were basically monthly updates on how the divisions were doing, budget reports, supply requests, and training schedules. It was pure torture. It was a good thing that they had to stand through them or Toushiro might have fallen asleep every time. The idea was that if each squad knew what the other was doing then there was less of a chance that something like Aizen would happen again. But it was more tedious than it was helpful in Toushiro's eyes.

On the first day of each month he would grumble from the moment he woke up to the second he was outside the First Division's meeting hall. It was a complete waste of time; he could have been doing twenty things that were more useful.

Ichigo didn't believe him when he said that the meetings were a waste of time. He thought that since they were top secret and restricted only to captains, they had to be exciting. Nothing Toushiro said could convince him otherwise.

Toushiro covered a yawn with his _shitagi_ sleeve and discreetly wiped tiny tears from his eyes. This had to be the worst meeting yet. They'd been in here for almost two hours and had only gotten through five Squads. He was going to fall asleep standing up. Each squad should have a time limit. If they couldn't fit something within five minutes then it wasn't important. He certainly didn't need to know about the Sixth Division's weekly meal schedule; Byakuya was always thorough. Sometimes a bit too thorough.

He covered another yawn and found his gaze wandering to the line of pillars behind the captains across from him. And then he spotted it.

Or rather him.

Ichigo was peeping out from behind one of the pillars, glancing around the room and looking way too happy with himself. Toushiro rolled his eyes, that idiot. He would be in for a shock when he realised that the meeting was just as boring as Toushiro said it was. Though the real matter was how Ichigo had managed to sneak in without anyone noticing. He hadn't been there for long, if he still looked excited about it, but Toushiro hadn't noticed when he came in. He couldn't even feel his _reiatsu_ , come to think of it. He'd need to talk to him about this once they got home. The captain's meetings were private for a reason – and Ichigo had undoubtedly broken a few rules in getting here. Maybe the boringness of the meeting would be punishment enough.

He glared at Ichigo until he glanced in his direction. The moment their eyes met Ichigo blushed and disappeared behind the pillar once more.

...

"You are not worth half the trouble you give me, kurosaki," Toushiro sighed as he sat Ichigo down at the dining table in his quarters. He folded his legs underneath him and propped his elbow up on the smooth wood. The Head-Captain had called Toushiro over right as the meeting had ended and told him to keep his boyfriend on a shorter leash: Ichigo wasn't privy to the meetings and this information – as boring as it was – could not float around the _Seireitei_ for any and everyone to hear. But he couldn't really find himself to care too much. Ichigo had provided some quality entertainment for a few minutes.

Ichigo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "I told you, you couldn't come for a reason. That stuff is sensitive information."

Ichigo snorted. "Byakuya was telling you guys the squad menu..."

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "Obviously not that."

"Is that what you guys really talk about though?"

"Yes, as ridiculous as it seems, and no matter how much time it wastes."

"I see why you always complain then."

"You should have believed me. Then I wouldn't have to punish you."

"What?"

"The Head-Captain ordered it."

"He did not."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "You weren't supposed to be there."

Ichigo huffed. "You guys were literally talking about lunch."

"You're still in the wrong."

"Fine then, what's the punishment?"

Toushiro looked at the pout on his boyfriend's face and his folded arms. He looked for all like a scolded child. He almost chuckled and managed to ward it off by shaking his head. He stood up and walked around the table, ruffling Ichigo's hair as he passed.

Ichigo craned his neck to watch as he **moved** to the kitchen and filled a kettle with water. "What's the punishment?" he repeated, eyebrows dipping to a light frown.

Toushiro shrugged as he put the kettle to boil.

"Bathroom duty? Extra training? Do I have to help you with your paperwork? Handle new recruits?"

"All good suggestions."

"Babe, you know I'm not good with suspense."

Toushiro smirked and knelt behind his boyfriend, draping his arms over his shoulders. He pressed a soft kiss to the side of his neck. Ichigo turned his head and brushed his lips against his.

"If you're setting up for a punishment then you're not doing a very good job."

"You're lucky you're cute."

Ichigo grinned and kissed him again.

"I couldn't care less about punishing you. Those meetings are as useless as they are boring," he sighed as they broke apart, "but appearances are appearances, so you'll need to help Matsumoto with her paperwork."

* * *

 **I'm Back! I'm done with school forever, or maybe just a few years, who knows.**

 **Thanks to Azumi Ojima for this prompt and I apologise for the long wait.**

 **Next up we have Corisanna then a guest reader.**

 **Donations are open. One prompt - about anything you want - per review.**

 **-Mymomomo**


	19. The Ice Dragon and the God of Mischief

Ichigo discovered that Toushiro loved movies. He liked all kinds, from western dramas to documentaries, and even cartoons to some extent – He'd seen him watch an episode of 'Family Guy', he'd been confused, but watched it all the same. Ichigo would set him up with Netflix and that would be a weekend gone. He didn't know whether he was just fascinated by the technology or if he was really becoming a movie junkie. They had marathoned _House_ a couple of months ago, then attempted _Star Wars_. Ichigo fell asleep during most of them, but Toushiro was just as content to watch them by himself.

He couldn't remember the actors or directors if his life depended on it, however. When Ichigo referred to them by name he would just stare. Toushiro couldn't give a crap about pop-culture, but he loved movies just because they were movies. A possible release from busy days and stress. The same as books - but Ichigo couldn't talk to him, much less breathe too heavily when Toushiro was reading.

"How do you feel about superhero movies?" Ichigo asked, they had gone on a date of his choosing last weekend, so this weekend was movie night. Ichigo wanted to stay up with him this time, so decided that it would be best if they watched something action-y. The problem was that anything Ichigo suggested Toushiro had already seen. He would watch movies a second time without a problem, but Ichigo didn't want him to do that.

Toushiro tilted his head. "Like _Batman_?"

Ichigo hadn't even known that he had heard of Batman. "Yeah like _Batman_ , but um... from a different movie company."

"They're okay. Why? Did you want to watch one?"

"Yeah, it's been out for a few years though. Have you heard of _Thor_?"

"Yeah, _The Avengers_ right?"

Ichigo sighed, "You've already seen that one too?"

"No, they looked a little too childish for me."

"They're _family_ movies."

Toushiro shrugged. "I'll watch it if you want. Is it on the Netflix?"

Ichigo hid a grin in his shirt sleeve. "We can find it."

One of the reasons Ichigo liked movie nights was that Toushiro didn't mind cuddling when he was engrossed in a show. He would allow Ichigo to pet his hair, and would use him as a pillow. Getting a TV for the bedroom had been one of his best ideas yet. They snuggled under a fleece blanket with a bowl of popcorn and a glass of red wine for Ichigo (Toushiro would have a few sips) and a cup of peach flavoured green tea for Toushiro. Toushiro curled up next to Ichigo's side and rested his head against his shoulder. Ichigo wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his temple before pressing play.

It was entertaining to see Toushiro engrossed in a movie. From the moment the title sequence started his eyes were fixed on the screen. He let out little gasps, he smiled, he jumped slightly, and he even chuckled if the joke was especially funny. During the battle scenes he gripped Ichigo's hand tightly, squirming into his lap and pressing his back to his chest. Ichigo had to try his hardest not to take out his phone and record him. Toushiro would never forgive him if he did that. He managed to discretely take a few pictures and send them to Rangiku and Momo on Snapchat, and save them to a hidden album of course.

It had been a good movie, and Ichigo admitted that he'd want to watch the sequel either tomorrow or next week. But as he turned on the bedside lamp he noticed that Toushiro was frowning at the blank screen.

"You didn't like it?" he asked sitting down next to him.

"No, it was good."

"So what's with the frown?"

Toushiro shook his head and looked away, hopping off the opposite side of the bed and gathered the empty popcorn bowl and glasses. "It's nothing."

"Shiro."

"It's silly. Don't worry about it."

Ichigo sighed and watched him leave the room to put the dishes in the sink.

"What did you think of Tom Hiddleston?" Ichigo asked as they got back into bed to sleep.

"Who?"

"Loki. I've seen him in other movies, but he's normally the good guy. I didn't know he could do evil so well."

"... I don't think he was evil." Toushiro tilted his head. "Just misunderstood. What would you do if you found out that your parents had been lying to you for most of your life?"

"Uhhh, my dad kinda did... lying by omission, but he didn't tell me about him being a _shinigami_ until he had to."

"Ah."

Ichigo sighed softly and pulled him into a hug. "Would you have preferred that I go on a rampage and demand revenge?"

Toushiro pulled away and scowled playfully at him. "That part was wrong on his part, but his parents clearly had favourites. At least your father treated you and your sisters equally."

"Nah, Yuzu has always been the favourite. No one even tries to hide it."

Toushiro chuckled. "Well in true Norse myth Loki was the god of mischief, but Tom... Hiddleston?"

Ichigo nodded.

"He made his story believable. I guess that's why I don't agree with how he did things, or how they were handled. He just wanted to be accepted for who he was, right? Imagine learning that you are the very thing that your father hates the most? Odin did wage war on the ice giants after all. He couldn't have possibly thought that Loki would be okay with that."

Ichigo shrugged. "I couldn't tell you, babe. These comic series have been going on for ages. I'm sure there was a good reason why they decided to make the characters a certain way."

"It's called plot."

Ichigo grinned. "Alright. So, should we even bother watching the sequel?"

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "Why not? I said it was a good movie."

Ichigo scoffed. "Of course, babe."

* * *

 **Thanks to Corisanna for this prompt!**

 **I'm going to try to catch up with donations, so expect a few updates over the course of the next few days :)**

 **Donations are open - I accept mostly anything. One prompt per reviewer, please!**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	20. Bonfires and Green-eyed Monsters

Anime/Manga » Bleach » **It's About Us**

Author: Mymomomo

1\. Flower Crowns and Nightmares 2. Earbuds and Witches 3. Parents and Trains 4. Leather Gloves and Teaspoons 5. Speeches and Bathroom Stalls 6. Love Notes and Sprained Ankles 7. Hollows and Bandages 8. Lunch Dates and Funerals 9. Friends and Formalities 10. Virgins and Movie Dates 11. Oxygen Masks and Borrowed Sweaters 12. Chiran Sencha and Exes 13. Toast and Fuzzy Sweaters 14. Hollow Masks and Coffee Creamer 15. Textbooks and Breakups 16. Trust and Training 17. Cute Faces and Cockatiels 18. Spies and Discipline 19. The Ice Dragon and the God of Mischief 20. Bonfires and Green-eyed Monsters 21. Car Accidents and Gift Baskets 22. Compromises and Bird Song 23. Secrets and Saké 24. Doctor's Appointments and Wine Tasters 25. French Fries and Transfer Students 26. Long Legs and Bad Actors 27. Holidays and Sandstorms 28. Bouquets and Questions 29. Drug Lords and Cheesecake

Rated: T - English - Romance/General - Reviews: 94 - Published: 10-24-15 - Updated: 09-20-16

id:11577322

"Do... do you want to have lunch together?"

Ichigo almost thought that he misheard his boyfriend. He still couldn't believe that Toushiro was actually his boyfriend. He couldn't believe that Toushiro had actually agreed to be his boyfriend, that they were dating, and that Toushiro might actually, possibly love him. Still, Toushiro was a bit hesitant to do things that couples normally did. Ichigo didn't mind that he was the one who had to suggest dates, or invite himself over; Toushiro was just too shy to ask.

He often spent his spare time at the _Seireitei_ , alternating between Rukia, Renji, and now Toushiro. So, it wasn't a big deal to stop by for lunch. It was to Toushiro, however. He was looking at the paperwork on his desk as if it was the most interesting thing he had seen in his life. His cheeks and the tips of his ears were tinged with red. Cute.

Ichigo couldn't help but grin like a maniac. "I'd love to!"

Toushiro looked up and smiled nervously. Ichigo would have kissed him right then and there if he would have let him.

"Where do you want-"

"Oh crap..." Ichigo slapped a hand to his forehead.

Toushiro's smile faltered. "What is it?"

Ichigo sighed heavily and scrapped his nails through his hair. "I promised Rukia that we would do lunch today."

"Oh." Toushiro's smile definitely fell.

Ichigo scrambled to salvage the situation. "But I can see if she'll-"

"No, it's fine. You shouldn't go back on your promises anyway."

Ichigo sighed, watching as Toushiro went back to his paperwork.

"We can have lunch tomorrow?" he asked. Toushiro didn't look up.

"I suppose."

Ichigo chewed the inside of his cheek and sighed softly, cursing his luck. The one day Toushiro asked him to do something, he had already made plans. He wished he could go back in time and kick himself, or at least schedule the lunch for a different day.

Since he was on summer vacation, Ichigo had more time than usual on his hands. He ended up spending most of his time in the _Seireitei_ , sometimes even sleeping over at the Kuchiki estate. Byakuya didn't seem to mine, or at least he wasn't verbal about it, and it wasn't like he slept in the same room as Rukia. He'd wonder off to the Tenth in the morning or find Renji to train. Renji and Rukia had jobs, but he could still find things to do: training, running errand boy, or actually exploring the _Seiretei_ now that he wasn't considered a threat. Plus, Toushiro was also nearby, and his office couch was pretty comfortable. Even if he was usually busy with work, just sitting with him was nice.

"We're having a bonfire at the Kuchiki estate tonight," Ichigo said. Toushiro had taken a break from his work and they were enjoying a cup of tea, sitting together on the couch. "You should join us."

"Us?" Toushiro asked quietly running the tip of his finger around the rim of his mug as it sat between his thighs.

"Yeah, Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku and Ymichika, Hanataro... Byakuya may show up. I think he will; it's at his house. Anyone who hears about it is coming, I guess."

Toushiro hummed softly. "I'll come. What time does it start?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Um... eight?"

"Until?"

"When people leave?"

Toushiro hesitated.

"But you can leave early if you want."

Toushiro took a deep breath through his nose. It might have been a sigh; Ichigo wasn't too sure.

"Are you spending the night in the _Seireitei_?"

"Yeah, at the Kuchiki manor; I've been staying there off and on. Didn't you know that?"

Toushiro shook his head and looked into his teacup. "You never told me. I thought you'd been going back to the World of the Living."

"Oh... sorry about that."

Toushiro sighed and Ichigo felt him tense slightly. He picked up the teacup and held it tightly with both hands. He took a deep breath; Ichigo felt his ribcage push into the backrest. "You... you could spend the night with me."

Ichigo blinked, a bit taken aback. He hadn't known that they had arrived at this point in their relationship. "Oh... uh, I didn't want to impose on you."

Toushiro was silent for a beat. "I-it wouldn't be too much trouble." He was blushing now. He wasn't looking at Ichigo, but he could tell from his reddening ears.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to, and Rukia offered... but, yeah. I'd love to stay with you." He couldn't stop from grinning. "I'll bring my stuff over after the bonfire."

Toushiro nodded and leaned back into the couch, moving slightly closer to him. Ichigo took the chance; he scooted so that their thighs were touching and leaned against Toushiro's shoulder. "I wanna kiss you."

Toushiro's blush deepened and his eyes widened slightly. "I didn't know people usually announced that."

Ichigo chuckled, "I thought I'd give you a warning."

Toushiro scoffed and angled his body to face Ichigo. He set his teacup on the coffee table and rose up to meet him. Their lips met briefly and softly. Ichigo was also blushing when they broke apart.

The bonfire ended in disaster. For Ichigo, at least. Toushiro turned up and they had sat together and roasted marshmallows for a while. No one in the Soul Society knew what a s'more was; he couldn't believe it. They all thought that he was weird until he rounded up the supplies – thanks to Kisuke's speedy method of travelling between the realms, and had them try. Rukia couldn't get enough, and even Byakuya (who had turned up for all of three minutes) seemed pleasantly surprised. Rangiku and Kyoraku showed up with sake, dragging an exasperated Nanao with them, and Yachiru ate most of the un-roasted marshmallows. Ichigo knew that usually Toushiro was uncomfortable with large, loud crowds, but that night he didn't seem to mind much. He started to get worn out at around eleven and asked Ichigo if they could leave. However, as he walked up to Rukia to tell her that he was going to spend the night with Toushiro, she hooked an arm around his neck and demanded that they start a game of Never Have I Ever. She'd been introduced to drinking games by Yuzu, who was surprisingly the queen bee of her high school. Ichigo had had a couple of drinks himself and agreed, thinking that it would be fun. Toushiro had firmly declined saying 'I don't drink' even after Ichigo tried to convince him to play one round. Somewhere, during their discussion they agreed that Toushiro would head home and Ichigo would meet him there after the game was over. Except that didn't end up happening.

Ichigo woke up the next morning at the Kuchiki manor with a sandpaper mouth and a splitting headache, but he realised what he had done almost instnatly. Less than half an hour later he was stumbling into the Tenth Division's admin office. Toushiro was at his desk, already a good way through a pile of documents. He glanced to Ichigo as he barged in, but didn't say anything.

"Toushiro, I am so sorry," Ichigo rasped, clinging to the edge of the desk, trying not to feel too nauseated. "I... I don't know what happened."

Toushiro let out a harsh breath through his nose, set down his brush, and looked towards Ichigo. His eyes were bloodshot and Ichigo noticed that there was a cup of coffee, rather than the usual green tea, on his desk.

"Did you wait up for me?"

"I did."

Ichigo swore. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"You can stay with the Kuchikis if you so desire. You didn't have to lie to make me feel better."

Ichigo felt his stomach twist in a way that wasn't because of the hangover. "No, I meant to stay with you last night... I just... Rukia really wanted to play and I couldn't say no to her. I guess I drank more than I realised."

"It would seem so." Toushiro sighed heavily and sat back in his chair. He folded his arms across his chest and levelled Ichigo with a cool stare. "You spend a lot of time with Rukia."

Ichigo frowned. "She's my friend."

Toushiro chewed the inside of his cheek. "I know. But you need to tell me, right now, if I should be worried."

Ichigo was silent for a moment, his headache preventing him from understanding what Toushiro meant. "What? No? I mean, sure we're close; she's the one who pulled me into all this _shinigami_ madness and we kinda owe each other our lives..." he scratched the back of his neck and rubbed his temples. "I really need to learn healing _kidō_."

Toushiro clenched his jaw, but motioned for Ichigo to come closer. Ichigo bowed his head and shuffled around the desk. Toushiro pressed his index and middle finger to Ichigo's temple and he felt the cooling relief of _kidō_ ebb through his head and cause his nausea to recede.

"Thanks."

Toushiro nodded curtly and picked his brush up. Ichigo backed off a bit, trying to read Toushiro to see if it was okay to give him a thank you kiss. It didn't seem so. He replayed his question in his mind, now that he could think clearly, and winced. He had been spending a lot of time with Rukia. No more than usual, but now that he and Toushiro were dating he could see why there was cause for worry. His answer hadn't been completely reassuring either. He clicked his tongue at his own foolishness.

"Ahhh," he groaned. "You're jealous."

Toushiro quickly glanced up then looked back to his paperwork. "What?"

"Of Rukia. You're jealous of Rukia."

Toushiro opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"What I said was true, Toushiro. We are very close; I owe her my life and she owes me hers. We would do anything for each other. But it's no cause for you to worry. _We're_ dating; I asked _you_ to be my boyfriend. And if I wasn't completely sure that I liked you I wouldn't have asked. There is no way I would _ever_ go behind your back, ever betray you like that, as long as we're together."

Toushiro looked up at him and a small smile graced his lips. "I believe you, Ichigo, and thanks. I needed to hear that."

* * *

 **This was donated by an anonymous guest reviewer**

 **Up next we have Nico-Zi, Chibi Envy Chan, and Airaly**

 **Donations are still open!**

 **-Mymomomo**


	21. Car Accidents and Gift Baskets

**I've decided to change the name of this fic and update the summary cause it's been bugging me for a while. Hope I didn't confuse anyone.**

 **This can be read as the continuation of chapter 15: Textbooks and Breakups.**

 **Warnings for character death and NSFW themes.**

* * *

Toushiro wasn't handling the break-up all too well. Even he could admit that to himself. He had left the World of the Living with a small bag full of the stuff he had accumulated at Ichigo's apartment over the years. Ichigo had hugged him when he left and then shut the front door with a heavy click. Toushiro had given back his key. He clutched his bag to his chest and swallowed harshly against the tight feeling in his throat. He tried to remind himself that this was for the best. It wouldn't work between him and Ichigo. It would be best if Ichigo got to have a normal life with people that would age and grow alongside him. When he got back to the _Seireitei_ , he went straight to his quarters, sat on his futon, and cried. Braking up with Ichigo was the most sensible thing to do, but of course it also hurt the most.

He tried to pull himself together for work, but the absence of his scatter-brained, red-headed boyfriend – ex-boyfriend had his eyes growing watery every five minutes and made his thoughts impossible to wrangle.

"Captain, are you okay?" Rangiku asked him, as she set a cup of tea on his desk.

"Yes." He cleared his throat and stared at the field report he was editing.

"What happened?"

"I said I was fine."

"You're obviously not. Does it have something to do with why Ichigo hasn't been visiting?"

He took a deep breath and his vision went blurry. He braced his forehead in his palm and set down the report. "We broke up." He hated how small his voice sounded.

Rangiku gasped softly. "What? Why? You both looked so happy."

His throat burned and constricted. "It... it wouldn't have worked out." He tried to clear his throat again. "Not while he's in the World of the Living and I'm here."

Rangiku sighed and he felt an arm around his shoulders. She didn't have to say anything else.

He took the next day off; something he hadn't done in years, and slept for most of it. He didn't feel like doing anything. There was an Ichigo-shaped void in his life now and he didn't know what to do to get rid of it. If only he had been born in a different time, a different place, or if Ichigo had come to him centuries sooner, or even later, maybe it could have worked. He clutched his pillow to his chest and stared at the wall.

Ranigku came to bring him lunch. Momo dropped off some cookies. He didn't touch any of them. He knew his should have felt hungry – he hadn't eaten since yesterday – but he didn't. When the setting sun began to bathe his room in yellow-orange light, he realised that he had been in the same position for the entire day. He slowly sat up and scrubbed his hands down his face. This was ridiculous, an entire day wasted because he missed Ichigo. His vision grew blurry instantly and he roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. It wouldn't have worked, he growled in his mind. There was no use mopping around like he had. It wouldn't make things better; if anything he felt worse than he did yesterday. He took a deep calming breath and slowly got to his feet. It was the best decision he could have made. Ichigo deserved better.

Weeks passed, he found that he had no appetite, he had trouble sleeping, and he couldn't concentrate on his work. Rangiku tried to cheer him up – she bought him a green tea sampler, a box of amanattō, she even did her share of the paperwork without complaining and offered to help him with his. She offered him some saké on a few occasions. He considered taking up her offer. Momo tried to be helpful as well, and Ukitake sent over a couple baskets of candy. He was grateful for all their help; he just couldn't find it in himself to show it, though Rangiku assured him that he would feel better with time.

A few months after the breakup he was finally starting to feel a bit better. His chest still ached when he thought of Ichigo and he still had trouble sleeping, but at least he could force himself to focus on other things.

Then, late one Friday night, when he had stayed at the office to finish a report, the door slid open and heavy, determined footsteps came up to his desk. Toushiro, recognised the reiatsu instantly. His heart leapt with mixed emotions – a spike of happiness, but then dread, sorrow, and anger.

"Ichigo," he said, straining to keep his voice level. "What are you doing here?"

Ichigo took a deep breath and tried to grin, but didn't quite make it. "You look rough," he sighed, "when was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"

"What are you doing here?" Toushiro tightened his grip on his brush.

Ichigo fixed him with a fiery, brown gaze. "I came here for you."

Toushiro's heart jumped to his mouth and his stomach fluttered, before he remembered why this could not happen. "Ichigo, I told you-"

"That reason's bullshit and you know it. I don't care about our differences, they don't matter."

Toushiro rubbed his temples, feeling his eyes grow watery. "It does matter, you shouldn't have to wait on me, you shouldn't have to grow old with someone who doesn't age like you do. You deserve better."

"I don't want better."

Toushiro covered his face, feeling the first teardrop fall down his cheek. "Ichigo, please, you're making this harder than it has to be."

"It doesn't have to be hard." He stepped close enough to wrap an arm around Toushiro's shoulders. "I'm here now; we don't have to go between worlds."

"You'll have to go back eventually."

Ichigo hesitated. "I don't... not anymore."

Toushiro whipped his head around to stare at Ichigo. His eyes widened and he felt his stomach sink to his feet. "Y-you..." he paused and shook his head, "You don't mean what I think you do. You can't."

Ichigo smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."

Toushiro continued to shake his head. "No... how? When?"

He shrugged. "I think it was a car accident... the bus flipped over, I'm not sure how. I wasn't the only one who died, though."

Toushiro turned sideways in his chair and placed a hand on Ichigo's cheek, running his thumb across the bone. "Ichigo..." he sighed, closing his eyes briefly.

"My family knows what's up, it's not too sad, though my friends at the hospital..." he swallowed, "I stayed for the funeral... it was touching." He took a deep breath. "That was three weeks ago. I would have come sooner, I should have but-"

Toushiro wrapped his arms around Ichigo's neck, rising to kneel on his chair.

"I thought you needed space," he mumbled into Toushiro's neck. "I asked everyone who knew not to tell you, I wanted to do it myself, but... you broke up with me... I couldn't... I wasn't sure." He wound his arms around his waist and shook his head slightly. "I want us to work, Shiro, and if it took my death to do so then that's that."

"I didn't want this," Toushiro felt his throat clamp shut, "You were supposed to live, find someone else that suits you, that you could start a family and grow old with. You weren't supposed to die."

Ichigo tightened his embrace. "Who are you to decide what I'm supposed to do? I wanted you – I still do – and now you don't have an excuse to keep me away."

"Ichigo,"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Toushiro took a deep breath. "I don't want you to."

He felt Ichigo's breathing hitch, and the next thing he knew his lips were on his.

The kiss was salty.

It was gentle and tentative at first, but after a few moments Toushiro was overwhelmed by the fact that Ichigo was here with him. He stood up, still on the chair, so Ichigo had to stretch onto his toes. Toushiro buried both hands in his hair, deepening the kiss. Ichigo's arms travel upwards from his waist to his ribs before pulling Toushiro from the chair and flush against his body. Toushiro held on to him wrapping his legs around his hips and clutching his shoulders. Ichigo settled his arms under Toushiro's thighs.

"I missed you," Ichigo mumbled, rubbing his nose to Toushiro's.

"Me too."

"Those were the hardest months I have ever been through."

Toushiro's stomach churned. It wasn't his intention to cause Ichigo more pain. "I'm sorry-"

"None of that, not right now." He pecked Toushiro's lips, catching the bottom one between his teeth.

"You started it."

Ichigo chuckled softly before kissing him again.

...

It was almost morning, but neither of them could sleep. Toushiro rested his head against Ichigo's chest listening to his heartbeat. Strong and steady. Their bare legs entwined under the sheets and Ichigo's arm was loosely draped over Toushiro's waist.

"I guess you're stuck with me now," Ichigo mumbled, kissing the top of Toushiro's head.

"It would seem so," Toushiro yawned.

"I told you we could make it work."

"You are insufferable, Kurosaki." He reached for his hand and twined their fingers together before bringing their joined hands to his lips and pressing them to Ichigo's knuckles.

* * *

 **The full NSFW version can be read on my Tumblr - link is in my profile.**

 **Thanks to Nico Zi for this prompt!**

 **Next is Chibi Envy Chan then** **Airaly**

 **Donations are still open- one prompt per review please!**

 **-Mymomomo**


	22. Compromises and Bird Song

Ichigo's bird was throwing a tantrum, squawking indignantly, flapping his wings, and chewing on the bars of his cage. Why? Because Toushiro was paying more attention to his paperwork than he was to him. Toushiro rubbed his temples and sent a suffering glance at the cockatiel now aggressively swinging on his hanging perch. He knew that he was being disruptive; his little, beady, black eyes looked smug.

"What do you want, Kotori?" he huffed, giving in and going over to the cage that Ichigo had set in the corner of his office. He shouldn't have agreed to pet-sit for the weekend, he had a pretty important report due on Monday and if the bird kept this up he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to finish it. But, Ichigo had used his puppy-eyes and Toushiro had a running history of not being able to say no when Ichigo used his puppy-eyes. He poked his fingers through the bars of the cage and Kotori jumped over to him, ramming his head against his fingertips and demanding him to scratch his neck.

"I can't pet you all day," Toushiro sighed, running a fingernail underneath the bird's chin.

Kotori chirped happily and Toushiro huffed in annoyance. The moment he went back to his work, the bird would start screeching and biting his cage bars.

"You're a nuisance, just like your owner." He withdrew his fingers from the cage and, as predicted, as soon as he took a step back Kotori let out the loudest, shrillest screech he could. Toushiro groaned. "Will you be quiet? What do I have to do to make you stop?"

Kotori's answer was to flap his wings and screech.

Toushiro grumbled and picked up the cage. Fine, they would compromise. He set it on his desk and sat down. Kotori craned his neck to see what was going on, clinging onto the side of the cage that was closest to Toushiro. He blinked and let out a quiet chirp as Toushiro picked up his brush and dipped it in the ink pad. He was silent for all of two minutes as Toushiro edited the report. Then all hell broke loose again. He screeched, he squawked, he bit his cage bars, flapped his wings, and hopped in irritation from one side of his cage to the other. Toushiro growled, throwing his brush down and yanking his hair.

"What do you want, you stupid bird?!"

That seemed to make Kotori more aggravated; he latched onto the near side of his cage and screamed right at Toushiro's face. Toushiro was stunned for a moment, watched as the bird bobbed up and down screaming bloody murder. He was about to call Ichigo to tell him that his bird was possessed when Kotori hopped to his cage door and began to peck at the latch. He couldn't open it; Ichigo had assured him that he couldn't open it.

"Do you want to come out?" Toushiro asked. He sighed when the screeching didn't stop.

Ichigo sometimes let the bird out of his cage, he couldn't fly away, and he sat on Ichigo's shoulder or on top of his head as he went around his apartment. Toushiro grumbled and unhooked the door.

"You better not shit on my paperwork."

Kotori hopped out of his cage, ruffled his wings and explored Toushiro's desk top. Toushiro shook his head and picked up his brush once more. Kotori chirped softly, the crest on his head perked up slightly and he hopped over to Toushiro and settled on the hand that held the brush. He looked up to Toushiro and blinked expectantly.

Toushiro scowled. "I can't write with you sitting there."

He shook his hand in an effort to make Koroti get off, but the bird simply chirped happily and fluffed his feathers, sinking down into a more comfortable position.

"You're being ridiculous," he sighed. At least the bird was quiet now. He was still able to write with Kotori sitting on his hand and if anything the warmth on the back of his hand was comforting. Maybe he just wanted to be close to someone. Knowing Ichigo, he probably spoilt the bird rotten.

That night Ichigo called him to check up on his pet. Toushiro was lying on his futon with the bird cage on the ground next to him. Kotori was sleeping with his head under his wing.

"How's he doing?" Ichigo asked.

"He's fine," Toushiro muttered. "He wouldn't shut up earlier today. How can a bird that small scream so loudly?"

Ichigo snorted. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Shut up. I don't scream; I yell."

"Right, babe. Hope he wasn't too distracting. He's not good with new places."

"Yeah, he stopped when I let him out. He seemed happy to ride on my hand while I did my work."

Ichigo chuckled. "Yeah, he likes doing that."

"It would have been nice to know that beforehand."

Ichigo chuckled guiltily. "Sorry, I knew I forgot to mention something."

* * *

 **This prompt was from Chibi Envy Chan :)**

 **Up next is Airaly then Reflet**

 **Donations are still open; drop one off in a review.**

 **-Mymomomo**


	23. Secrets and Saké

Toushiro had been looking a bit more stressed out than usual lately. He usually had all his shit together in a way that Ichigo couldn't even fathom. Being frazzled was Ichigo's thing, so he had never expected to see his boyfriend frantically jumping from one assignment to the next and scrambling to get things done. He didn't know what to say or do, especially since Toushiro hadn't answered his good-morning almost ten minutes ago. He hadn't even acknowledged Ichigo's presence in the room yet. So, Ichigo sat down on the couch and waited.

Nearly twenty minutes passed before Toushiro glanced to him, did a double take, and then frowned.

"When did you get here?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck, "Uhhh, half an hour ago..."

Toushiro blinked slowly and sighed.

"Are you okay, babe?"

"Just busy," Toushiro answered shaking his head. "I don't know how I'm going to get everything done by the deadline."

Ichigo tilted his head. "Really? You usually have all your ducks lined up in a row."

Toushiro narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well shit happens," he snapped. He pushed his hair from his forehead. "Sorry, Ichigo, but I really don't have time to waste now."

Ichigo shook his head, "Okay, well I guess I'll check on you later..." he trailed off when he realised that Toushiro was no longer listening. He shook his head as he left the office, there wasn't much he could do to help Toushiro. He'd just need to make sure he wasn't going to skip meals or anything.

Ichigo returned to the office at six; it was no surprise to see Toushiro still working. He was scribbling frantically on a sheet of paper; his usual neat handwriting had turned near illegible with small flecks of ink between the kanji. There was even an ink smudge on one of his temples and a streak through his hair. Ichigo took a quick picture with his cell for future use – because his boyfriend was too damn cute with messy hair and ink on his face, even though he was stressed out. Then he walked over to the desk and set down a boxed dinner with a loud thump. Toushiro jumped slightly and looked up in confusion.

"Is it that time already?" he asked, slight panic tinged his voice.

Ichigo nodded and he dragged a hand down his face.

"You should take a break to eat."

"Can't."

"Shiro."

"I don't have the time."

Ichigo scoffed picked up the chop sticks. "I'll feed you, if you don't do it yourself."

Toushiro scowled at him then quickly shovelled down half of the meal before pushing it to the side and going back to work.

Ichigo decided that there were some battles that he wasn't up to fighting. So, he did the next best thing and tried to make sure that Toushiro didn't overwork himself. Rangiku had told him that Toushiro had been like this for a couple of days already, so he went over to his quarters to set things up for the night. He deserved a back rub at least, and a proper meal. Maybe he could convince him to relax in the bath house for a few hours.

But Toushiro didn't come back to his quarters that night. Ichigo waited until eleven before he went to the tenth's office to drag his workaholic boyfriend to bed. He wasn't surprised to find Toushiro face down on his desk.

"Oh, Shiro..." he sighed, going over to wake him up.

Toushiro groaned when he shook him then groggily sat up. Ichigo tried not to chuckle at his expression.

"It's time for bed, baby," he grinned.

Toushiro blinked a few times. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Wha-what're you doin'?" he slurred.

"Taking you to bed..." He raised an eyebrow when Toushiro looked around frowning slightly.

"M'kay." His head lolled to his shoulder.

Ichigo frowned; he had expected a little more fight. But Toushiro looked like he was really out of it. He guided Toushiro from his chair, chuckling softly as he swayed in exhaustion.

"Easy, babe, geez," he scoffed, catching him before he could bump into the corner of his desk. "How many times have you pulled an all-nighter this week?"

Toushiro blinked lazily and looked up at him. Tilting his head back seemed to be too much for him, however, and he tipped backwards. Ichigo caught him before he could fall over and picked him up. Toushiro instantly buried his face into his neck.

"You smell nice," he slurred.

Then Ichigo smelt the saké.

"Ohhhhhhhhh... gods Shiro," he groaned, "You're drunk."

Toushiro pulled away from Ichigo's neck. "'M not."

"Where did you..." he sighed, Rangiku's stash. Of course Toushiro knew where she hid all her alcohol. "Geez, you should tell me when you're that stressed out; you really shouldn't be drinking by yourself. How much did you even have?"

Toushiro blinked and Ichigo almost didn't believe his eyes when his bottom lip began to tremble.

"'M sorry." His eyes grew wet at a terrifyingly rapid pace.

Ichigo winced. "It's okay, baby. Let's just get you home."

Toushiro pressed his face to Ichigo's neck again. "I didn't mean to make you angry."

"I'm not angry," he sighed, and gently patted Toushiro's back. "Why were you drinking? I thought you hated alcohol."

Toushiro hiccupped, "Too much work."

"And you thought getting drunk would make it better?"

"I thought you said you weren't mad!" Toushiro pulled away, looking surprisingly distressed and almost managed to topple out of Ichigo's arms.

"Hey! Easy," Ichigo exclaimed, "Let's not get hurt, okay?"

Toushiro hung his head and Ichigo sighed loudly. "Okay, I get it; you were stressed out and you needed something to help." He smoothed a lock of hair from Toushiro's forehead and briefly pressed his lips to his cheek.

Toushiro nodded. "I didn't drink that much... three or four." He leaned against Ichigo's chest.

Ichigo shook his head. He knew Toushiro had basically no alcohol tolerance and four straight glasses of saké were bound to mess him up. He didn't even think Toushiro knew anything about chasers.

"You'll be feeling _that_ tomorrow."

Toushiro mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?"

"Don't tell anyone. 'M not supposed to get drunk... they'll laugh at me."

Ichigo sighed. Rangiku wouldn't let him live it down if she found out, so he could understand the sentiment, and Toushiro already got teased enough as it was. But it wouldn't be a long shot to tell everyone that he worked himself sick when he would up hungover. He clicked his tongue wondering who exactly he could round up to help finish Toushiro's paperwork tomorrow... and prevent him from doing this again in the future.

* * *

 **Thanks to Airaly for this one. Haven't done drunk Toushiro in a while even though I might have deviated from the prompt a bit.**

 **Up next is Reflet then Maria.**

 **Review if you'd like to donate a prompt**

 **-Mymomomo**


	24. Doctor's Appointments and Wine Tasters

Ichigo stopped himself from frowning as his three o'clock appointment hesitantly poked his head into the room. He glanced from the child to the medical form he held in his hand. The secretary must have made a mistake and given him the wrong form. He sighed and pulled out a blank form from a file on his desk and clicked his pen a few times.

"Come on in, no need to be scared," he said with a smile. "Sit down, please."

The white-haired child with the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen nervously sat in the chair in front of his desk. Ichigo had a type and blue eyes were on top of the list. However, he was a kid, a very cute kid, but a kid nonetheless.

The boy quickly skirted to the seat, pulling his jacket sleeves down to cover his fingers. It was probably his first doctor's visit on his own. How precious.

"I'm Dr. Kurosaki, we just need to fill out some paperwork before we can get started, okay?"

The boy tilted his head, his cheeks turning a light pink. He glanced up briefly meeting Ichigo's eyes before looking away. "I... I filled out a form in the waiting room."

Ichigo blinked at his unexpectedly deep voice. So smooth, he could probably sing – no. Ichigo mentally kicked himself. He would not fantasize over a kid. "There was a mistake – some wrong information."

He frowned. "Alright then, what information do you need?"

He was well spoken for a child; a bit formal, but it was probably nerves. "Do you have a parent or guardian to help you fill it out?"

"... I don't need one..."

Ichigo hesitated. "Okay, uh, I guess I can help you..."

He looked slightly confused and his cheeks seemed to redden as he studied Ichigo's face.

"Sorry." Ichigo scratched the back of his neck. "You probably think I'm bad at my job; I don't usually deal with minors, so I'm not sure what the protocol is here. Anyway, what's your name?"

"Toushiro Hitsugaya," he answered, definitely turning red. Maybe he was here because of a fever. He wrote his name down.

"Age?" Ichigo asked.

"Twenty-three."

Ichigo paused; he must have misheard. "Age?"

"Twenty-three."

Ichigo looked up from the form, raising an eyebrow. "Twenty-three?"

Toushiro nodded.

Several things ran through Ichigo's mind. He was ashamed to admit the first was relief that he hadn't thought that a child was attractive. "...You look much younger."

Toushiro swallowed thickly. "I... I'm not a kid."

Ichigo shrugged, the secretary would have asked for some identification when he came in for his appointment. He could double check. Toushiro looked like he couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or embarrassed. He was scowling slightly, but also chewing his bottom lip. Also, his face was still flushed. Ichigo smiled, internally of course, he was cute. In an adorable sort of way; he could not – would not let himself – be attracted to someone who was almost half his age. It was completely unprofessional, not to mention unethical. He shook his head and looked at the next question on the form.

"Height?"

"152 centimetres."

"Weight?"

"44 kilos."

Ichigo tapped his pen against the desktop. There was no way he could be twenty-three. Not with those measurements. But he didn't look like he was lying, and Ichigo was usually good at reading people. They finished the form and Ichigo refrained from asking him if he was sure about everything. He wouldn't gain anything by lying to his doctor.

"Okay, what seems to be the problem?"

...

It may have been the rebel in him, but Ichigo loved to see the appalled expression on the snooty rich people's faces when he kissed his boyfriend or even just held his hand. He wouldn't have put up with these five-star restaurants otherwise. But the food was also good, so there was that. They were seated next to a window upon Toushiro's insistence. Unlike Ichigo, he hated people staring. But there was a woman at the table next to them that had been eyeing them from the moment they had sat down. She had looked away, aghast when Ichigo had pulled out the chair for Toushiro and pecked him on the cheek before sitting down himself. Ichigo had winked at her when Toushiro had been studying the menu. He didn't deny the satisfaction when her face turned red and she began furiously whispering to her friend.

"The table to our left, Shiro," Ichigo mumbled, "that lady looks like her face is going to catch fire."

Toushiro glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye and snorted softly. "She probably thinks you're some sort of paedophile."

Ichigo waved his hand passively, turning his attention fully to his boyfriend; he had enough fun for now. "Nah, you're too old for that. What's it now? Twenty-five?"

"As if you don't know, old man. Or are you going senile already?"

Ichigo chuckled. "You do look much younger, though. You need to tell me your secret."

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"I mean I even thought you were a teenager when I first met you. I double checked your records just to make sure you weren't lying."

Toushiro scowled. "You didn't."

"I did."

"Fuck you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo smirked and reached across the table to hold Toushiro's hand. "It was more for myself, 'cause I thought you were cute and I didn't want to be a paedophile. But you weren't a minor, so it's all good."

Toushiro flushed. "You thought I was cute back then?"

"Well, like two parts adorable one part hot."

Toushiro pulled his hand away. "You get off on our age difference, don't you?"

"Oh please, and you don't? I've spoken to Momo, I know you like older men."

Toushiro turned crimson and glanced to the table next to them. "Shut up."

Ichigo grabbed his hand again, pressing his fingertips against his knuckles. "Admit it, Shiro."

He looked down at the table cloth. "I... I... might have had a crush on you when we first met."

Ichigo grinned. "Yeah, you couldn't stop blushing."

Toushiro pulled his hand away again and folded her arms across his chest. "I had a fever."

"That wasn't the only reason though."

"Ugh. Shut up."

Ichigo grinned. He definitely remembered Toushiro blushing uncontrollably during his first appointment, but he had honestly thought that it was because of his fever. He had seen Toushiro a few times afterwards, for a few tests and a follow up appointment. He had blushed furiously then, as well, and Ichigo had thought that it was just because he was uncomfortable. He had tried his best to smile and be friendlier than usual to put him at ease, only to have Toushiro become even more flustered. Then almost a month after Toushiro's last visit he got a call from his younger sister, Yuzu, inviting him to a wine tasting/singles' event. Toushiro had been there – dragged by his elder sister, and only then had Ichigo realised the reason why he had been so uncomfortable.

Age aside, Toushiro was one of the most mature people Ichigo knew; sometimes he even acted older than him. Their conversation had gone smoothly, after Toushiro stumbled over a greeting, and he was surprised to learn that Toushiro was already in grad school, studying aeronautical engineering and astrophysics, and planned to at least get up to a doctorate. He was cute when he talked about space and physics, most of which went over Ichigo's head, but it was enough for Ichigo to invite him out for coffee the next week. Then Toushiro nervously asked him out to dinner the week after that.

"You're only so small because your brain takes up all the nutrients. You'd be taller if you weren't so smart," Ichigo chuckled.

Toushiro narrowed his eyes. "And you're a doctor how, again?

* * *

 **Prompt donated by Reflet :) sorry, my mind immediately went to age kink.**

 **Up next is Maria then Nico Zi - donations are open, drop them off in a review.**

 **-Mymomomo**


	25. French Fries and Transfer Students

"Who was that?" Ichigo asked as Toushiro trotted into his apartment. Ichigo had opened the door to see some lanky hipster with lavender hair hug Toushiro tightly before walking away. Ichigo frowned when he turned back to wave, and then scowled when Toushiro waved back with a small smile playing at his lips.

"My friend, Sojiro Kusaka," Toushiro answered, kicking off his shoes and brushing past Ichigo to the kitchen. "What's for dinner?"

Ichigo followed, folding his arms across his chest. "I've never seen him before."

"He transferred this semester. We went to the same high school." Toushiro climbed up on the countertop to pull down the plates and cups.

"Is that why he was hugging you like that?" Ichigo leaned against the sink, watching as Toushiro jumped down and placed the plates on the table. "He knows you have a boyfriend, right?"

"It's not like that." Toushiro sighed, before opening the fridge and digging around for some left over take out.

"Really?'

Toushiro turned to face him, holding a box of noodles. "Really. We were good friends in high school; I got a scholarship to come here and he went halfway across the country and we haven't really kept up since. It was nice to see him again, that's all."

"Is he gay?"

Toushiro frowned. "Jealousy doesn't become you, Ichigo."

Ichigo shook his head and went over to help Toushiro finish setting up dinner.

Ichigo caught Toushiro and Sojiro sitting together in the dining hall a few days later. He told himself that there was nothing he should be worrying about, and went about getting his food. When he got back to their table, he noticed that Sojiro was a bit too close to Toushiro for comfort. The two stopped talking when Ichigo pulled up a chair. Sojiro looked up; looking ready to ask Ichigo what the hell he thought he was doing. Ichigo held back a smug grin as he set his tray down and leaned over to peck Toushiro on the cheek. Sojiro's eyes widened and Ichigo could now tell that he was clenching his jaw.

Toushiro was, of course, oblivious to this. He stole a French fry from Ichigo's plate in greeting.

"Hey, babe," he said, sitting down and pulling his fries away from Toushiro.

"Hey," Toushiro answered. "This is Sojiro," he nodded to the lavender-haired boy.

Ichigo had to stop himself from scoffing at his plaid shirt and beanie. Instead, he reached across the table to shake his hand. "Hi, I'm Ichigo, Shiro's boyfriend."

Sojiro swallowed, but shook his hand. "He didn't tell me he was dating anyone."

Ichigo raised his eyebrows at Toushiro.

"I didn't think it was important at the time," Toushiro shrugged and stole another one of Ichigo's fries.

Ichigo snorted. "Not important? We've been dating for nearly five months."

Toushiro shrugged again. Sojiro now looked somewhat disappointed; his grin had disappeared at least.

Later that night Toushiro was sitting at the coffee table working on an essay, fingers tapping a steady beat on his keyboard. Ichigo was trying to read a chapter from his biology textbook, but he couldn't concentrate. His thoughts kept on going back to Sojiro and the way he had been looking at Toushiro.

"He likes you, you know," Ichigo sighed at length, giving up on trying to study.

"Hmm?"

"Sojiro, he has a crush on you."

Toushiro scoffed. "No, he doesn't."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "He does. Didn't you see the way he was looking at you in the dining hall?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ichigo. Sojiro is just a friend."

"I don't think he sees it like that."

Toushiro stopped typing. "He doesn't have a crush on me. That's impossible."

"You sure? I mean, you're pretty cute. It's not impossible."

Toushiro heaved a huge breath, his shoulders rising to his ears. "It is. I asked him out in high school – to our senior prom – and he said no because he only saw me as a friend."

"Well, maybe he realised his mistake."

"... let's drop this, please."

"Alright," Ichigo sighed and picked up his textbook. "I'm heading to bed now." He gave Toushiro a quick kiss on the forehead before heading to the bedroom.

...

Ichigo had meant to apologise for things getting a bit out of hand. He was ready to admit that he had overreacted, slightly, and was sick of fighting with his boyfriend. It was weird not having Toushiro spend the night at his apartment, or doing homework together after their late classes, or complaining about the shitty dining hall food. Ichigo was honestly ready for things to go back to normal after a few days, but then he saw them in the library. Okay, Sojiro was Toushiro's good friend. He could accept that they were close. Toushiro could have friends or best friends or whatever. That wasn't the problem. The problem was when he looked straight into Toushiro's eyes and smiled, when he put his arm over the back of Toushiro's chair, when he touched his forearm and scooted closer, and when he leaned in to whisper something into his ear-

Ichigo cleared his throat and stepped up to the table. The pair jumped. Sojiro's chair screeched backwards like he knew he had been caught doing something wrong. Ichigo narrowed his eyes, balling his hands into fists inside his hoodie pockets.

"Toushiro," he said, tearing his eyes away from Sojiro. "Can we talk?"

Toushiro sighed and started to pack up his books. "I'll see you in class tomorrow," he told Sojiro as he swung his backpack onto his shoulder. Ichigo followed him outside. They walked in silence for a few minutes.

"So?" Toushiro started.

Ichigo breathed out deeply through his nose. "Okay, fine, I overreacted."

"And?"

"And I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"And?"

"... And I shouldn't have insulted Sojiro."

"And?"

"And?"

Toushiro huffed. "And you have no reason to be jealous."

Ichigo clenched his jaw. "I don't know about that."

"So you don't trust me?"

"I trust you; I don't trust _him_."

"Oh, so we're still fighting, then?" Toushiro rolled his eyes and sped up. It wasn't much trouble for Ichigo to catch up to him.

"It's obvious that he has a crush on you."

"He doesn't."

"I'm telling you he does. And you know that isn't even the problem. I don't like that he has the audacity to hit on you when he knows that we're dating."

"He's not hitting on me."

"Toushiro." Ichigo sent him an exasperated look.

Toushiro sighed heavily and stopped walking. Ichigo stopped a few steps later and turned around to see Toushiro clench his jaw hard. Ichigo knew then that Toushiro did know about Sojiro's intentions. He either just didn't want to admit that Ichigo was right or was in denial. Either way he was upset, but Ichigo had a feeling that it was not expressly at him. He sighed, and pulled him into a hug. Toushiro tensed at first, but then wound his arms around Ichigo's waist.

"It's not fair," he mumbled into Ichigo's chest. "Why couldn't he have liked me before I met you?"

Ichigo ran a hand through Toushiro's hair, ruffling the thick strands. "Life never works out like that, I guess."

Toushiro pushed his head against Ichigo's hand. "What am I supposed to do now? I can't keep on redirecting him, and I don't want to lose him as a friend."

"Talk to him."

"Then it'll be awkward."

"It'll be better than leading him on."

"I'm not leading him on."

Ichigo scoffed. "If you haven't told him out right that you're not interested then you are totally leading him on."

Toushiro groaned.

"And unless you plan on cheating on me with-"

"Never. Don't even say that."

Ichigo chuckled and wrapped both his arms around Toushiro's shoulders. "I know you wouldn't." He stepped back. "Let's go home."

Toushiro still looked a bit glum, but took Ichigo's hand in his as they walked back to Ichigo's apartment.

* * *

 **This prompt was donated by Maria and was scarily similar to a fic I've been thinking about doing for a while now. Who knows this might be the kick in the butt I needed to start it.**

 **Up next is Nico Zi then Corisanna.**

 **Leave a prompt in a review if you wanna.**

 **-Mymomomo**


	26. Long Legs and Bad Actors

"Why are your arms so freakishly long, Kurosaki?"

It was weird hearing his voice. It was weirder seeing his own body move around, clutching its hand to its chest after banging on the edge of the desk. Ichigo sighed and shook his head, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, hitting his heels against the comforter in a rhythm-less pattern

"Why are your legs so freakishly short?" he retorted, wincing as Toushiro's voice came out of his mouth.

Ichigo's body, or rather Toushiro who was trapped in Ichigo's _gigai_ , scowled.

"I am not short."

"Not now you aren't."

He had gotten used to Kon walking around in his body ages ago, but he had never scowled at him like that.

"Sorry." He raised his hands in submission. "Now's not the time to be making jokes."

Toushiro sighed and sat down next to Ichigo on the bed. He moved around awkwardly, with slow, overly-precise steps. "We should go see Urahara."

Ichigo nodded surprised at how far back he had to tilt his head to see Toushiro's face. No wonder his neck was always so stiff. They couldn't return to their own bodies fast enough. It had been an accident, they had stored their _gigais_ in Ichigo's closet while the fought a stray hollow. Ichigo had gone into the wrong one, blinding reaching around the closet and entering without double checking. Only when he realised that the _gigai_ felt a bit more restricting than usual he noticed that it was Toushiro's and that he couldn't get out. Then Yuzu had barged into his room and Toushiro had no choice but to jump into Ichigo's _gigai_ lest she thought Ichigo was unconscious or dead. He had admitted that it hadn't been his best plan by far, but Yuzu left a few moments later, a bit confused, but none the wiser.

"Being me isn't so bad, is it?" Ichigo tried humour again, after seeing Toushiro pull his mouth into a firm line and hunch over his knees. Ichigo refrained from wincing; was that how he looked when he was sad? He looked pissed off, almost ready to murder someone... yikes, no wonder people didn't mess with him.

"It's not that," Toushiro answered, "I'm just annoyed."

Ichigo reached out, having to stretch much further to reach Toushiro's shoulder than he normally would have. "We'll fix this, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't the first time someone accidentally got into the wrong _gigai_."

"No, but it definitely takes a special kind of idiot to do it."

"Ha ha ha. It was an honest mistake."

Toushiro offered him a small smile. "We should probably get going. I don't want to be inside you any longer than I absolutely have to."

Ichigo sighed. "You might want to rephrase that."

"What? Why... shut up, you pervert."

Seeing himself blush started a whole new level of weird.

"Could you slow down, please," Ichigo pleaded as he found himself having to jog to keep up with Toushiro's quick stride.

Toushiro paused and looked down in surprised. "Sorry, forgot. Longer legs."

"Do you normally have to jog to keep up with me?"

"Not jog, but when you're my height you learn to walk quickly."

Ichigo winced, making a mental note to walk slower when they got back their bodies. He had never thought about it before. No wonder Toushiro had such toned legs if he was always power walking everywhere. It sucked being so short. Then Toushiro walked into a low hanging tree branch and Ichigo took back his statement.

"You need to duck, babe."

Toushiro rubbed the side of his head and glared at him. "I know that _now_."

"Didn't you see it?"

Toushiro huffed. "I did, but I didn't think to..." he trailed off shaking his head. "Let's just hurry to Urahara's."

The rest of the walk would have gone smoothly if one of Ichigo's friends hadn't appeared out of thin air and hadn't gone out of his way to cross the street to say hi.

"Ichigo! Hey, Ichigo!"

Ichigo spun around to see who was calling him and swore. He looked up at Toushiro, who hadn't even responded. Of course he wouldn't; that wasn't his name, why would he respond? He nudged Toushiro roughly in his ribs and jerked his head to his approaching friend.

Toushiro glared at Ichigo.

I'm not pretending to be you, his expression read.

You have to, Ichigo pleaded.

Toushiro let out a long suffering sigh and turned to face Ichigo's friend. "Hello."

Ichigo wanted to slap his forehead. Hello? Who said that? There was no way they were going to make it through this conversation.

"Hey, Ichigo, how've you been?"

"Fine, thank you... and yourself?"

There was a long pause as Ichigo's friend grew confused and Ichigo tugged on the hem of Toushiro's shirt.

Stop being so formal.

"I... uh, you probably don't remember me..."

"Uhh, I'm sorry..."

It could have been worse. Ichigo thought, pressing his forehead against Toushiro's side in embarrassment. At least Toushiro wasn't saying anything weird; he was just being uncomfortably formal.

"Who's this?"

They both froze.

"This is my boyfriend, Ich-Toushiro."

Ichigo stiffened before holding out his hand. "Hey."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow at the greeting.

It was only by some miracle they managed to end the conversation without blowing their cover.

"You are seriously the worst actor I have ever seen," Ichigo grumbled as they waited for Tessai to get Urahara.

Toushiro narrowed his eyes at Ichigo. "Well I'm sorry that I can't be a convincing carefree airhead. You could have at least tried to sound intelligent."

"Right-"

Urahara barged into the room, waving his fan. "Hello, Ichigo, Toushiro, what bring you two... oh, this is interesting. I should say Toushiro and Ichigo."

Toushiro glowered at him. "Fix it."

* * *

 **This one was donated by Nico Zi :)**

 **Up next is Corisanna then KasaiKisu.**

 **Drop off a prompt in a review if you'd like to**

 **-Mymomomo**


	27. Holidays and Sandstorms

**Totally dropped the ball on this fic :/**

 **double chapter update to apologise. 1/2**

* * *

There was a sand storm on the horizon. Everyone in the town had been advised to stay inside for the day. Not that Toushiro minded; outside was hot enough to melt the soles of his shoes. Ichigo always chose the worst places to vacation. He was already halfway through his emergency supply of sunscreen and if the convenience store down the street didn't have the oil-free brand, all hell was going to break loose. Ichigo was pouting about not being able to go out and Toushiro couldn't help but smirk at his misery. It served him right for dragging him to somewhere so hot. He rolled over and pulled the comforter up to his chin. The AC was on full blast and the hotel bed had never felt more comfy.

"This sucks," Ichigo groaned, kicking his heels against the mattress. "I had plans for today."

"Did you, now?" Toushiro couldn't keep the glee from his voice.

Ichigo rolled over and scowled. "I did. Why are you being so lazy? You've never been so lazy."

"Ichigo, it's like forty degrees outside. Forgive me for not wanting to leave the room."

"The heat's not that bad."

"I will get heat-stroke if you make me go on another hike."

Ichigo let out a slow breath. "Just drink lots of water."

"You are ridiculous."

Ichigo chuckled. "So what are we supposed to do all day?"

"I don't know. Read... watch TV. We have a few options."

Ichigo sighed, "But those are boring. We didn't come all the way here to watch TV."

Toushiro rolled his eyes.

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"We are not going out in a sand storm."

Ichigo grumbled, but got up and went to pull back the curtain from the sliding glass door. It was almost noon, but outside was dark. Sand covered the sky, turning the world into different shades of gold and brown.

"Oh," was all Ichigo had to say. He stood still, watching the dust blow like clouds that had gotten too low to the ground. "Wow."

Toushiro got up and stood next to his husband, resting his head against his shoulder. "Sorry, but I don't think you plans for today are going to happen."

Ichigo huffed. "I guess not."

He wrapped his arm around Toushiro and pulled him against his chest. They were both silent for some time, just staring as the dust blew and covered everything in sight. Apart from the occasional snow storm, neither had seen anything so hazardous, yet beautiful. Eventually, they found their way back to the bed, with the curtains thrown wide open. Ichigo had turned off the light and they sat against the headboard, comfortably in each other's arms, watching as the giant cloud of dust drew closer and closer, then finally consumed the hotel.

* * *

 **Thanks to Corisanna for donating this prompt and patiently waiting for me to post it.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	28. Bouquets and Questions

**2/2**

 **You've missed one! Go back a chapter!**

* * *

They had been dating for a few months now. Well, two to be precise. And Ichigo came to the realisation that he didn't know much about his boyfriend. Sure he knew the important things: birthday, favourite foods, hobbies, pet peeves, and such. He knew about his family, that he grew up with his grandmother and sister, Momo. He knew he had a sharp tongue, and was extremely sarcastic. But he didn't know anything about past relations, either platonic or romantic. Toushiro had a small circle of friends; his sister, Rangiku; his lieutenant, Captain Ukitake, Lieutenant Nanao, and Ichigo wasn't sure if he genuinely liked Captain Kyoraku, or if he just put up with him for Ukitatke's sake. He had long since accepted the fact that Toushiro was a secretive person. He didn't take any offence to it; that was just how Toushiro was. But there was one question that had been sitting at the back of Ichigo's mind for a while now, and he had no idea on how to ask it.

"Hey, Shiro, are you a virgin?"

Yeah, 'cause that would go down well. He would either get kicked out of the Tenth's office or dumped on the spot. No, he needed to ask it with eloquence and finesse. Snooping around wouldn't do, either. He was positive that all of Toushiro's friends had been kept in the dark about that aspect of his life as well.

He assumed that Toushiro was, just because he tended to be more reclusive and sometimes downright shy. He couldn't picture him having any casual flings, or however that worked in the Soul Society. He was also way too dedicated to his work to do anything like that. There was also the fact that Toushiro was still pretty young, by _shinigami_ standards, and there weren't many people his age.

It didn't help that Toushiro gave no indication what so ever as to whether he was or not. Granted, Ichigo had told him that he was more than okay with taking things slow, so they hadn't even spoken about sex yet. Maybe they should, or maybe Toushiro would freak out and think Ichigo was pressuring him.

He groaned aloud. This was getting him nowhere.

"What's the matter, Ichigo?" Toushiro asked, looking up from a report on his desk.

Ichigo shot up from his position on the couch. He had almost forgotten that Toushiro was in the room with him. So damn quiet. "Uhhh, nothing. Just thinking about something."

"You sounded distressed."

"I... I'm not really."

"Is it anything I can help with?"

Ichigo had to physically stop himself from whipping his head around to ask Toushiro if he was a virgin right then and there. "Maybe... later."

Toushiro frowned at his response, but didn't press any further. Ichigo examined him as he went back to his work, as if he could tell from watching. He couldn't.

He would have to butter Toushiro up, of course, before he could tread into such dangerous territory. He brewed a pot of Toushiro's favourite tea and picked up a bouquet of flowers from a florist. Toushiro was pleased, but suspicious.

"What do you want, Ichigo?" he asked as he set the flowers in a vase of water and set them in a corner in his room. He spent a few moments arranging them before turning around to stare at Ichigo.

Ichigo, who was sitting anxiously in the middle of the room, chewed the inside of his cheek. "Who says I want anything?"

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "Out with it."

Ichigo sighed heavily. "I need to ask you a very personal question."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "And you thought that you needed to get me flowers in order to do so?"

"I didn't want you to get mad at me."

"I wouldn't get mad at you for asking me a question."

"Right..."

"What do you want to know, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo licked his lips and cleared his throat. "I... um..." he broke off to scratch the back of his neck.

"Whatever question it is, I'm sure it can't be that bad."

Ichigo chewed the inside of his cheek. Well if he wanted to make it a challenge...

"Are you a virgin?"

Toushiro's face went blank for a second, before him mind was able to process the question. Then he turned red. First his cheeks, then his entire face, his neck, and his ears. "What... wha... I... what..." he stammered for almost a full minute. Ichigo had to stop himself from grinning at how cute his embarrassment was. Eventually he managed to clear his throat and he looked away from Ichigo still blushing heavily. "Why do you want to know that?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't really know anything about your personal life, to be honest."

"And you thought that that was an appropriate place to start?"

"Well... it was going to come up eventually."

Toushiro coughed. "I... um..."

"It's not a bad thing either way. I was just curious."

Toushiro shook his head and stared at his feet.

"You don't have to answer." But it would kind of defeat the purpose. Ichigo held out his arms, inviting Toushiro into a hug.

Toushiro grumbled but slid into Ichigo's embrace, resting his head against his chest. He mumbled something. Ichigo knew it was an answer, but he hadn't heard it properly and he couldn't decide whether or not to ask again. Toushiro spoke up after a while however, his blush intensifying and his voice pitched higher than Ichigo had ever heard.

"Yes," he blurted then buried his face back into Ichigo's chest.

* * *

 **Thanks to KasaiKisu for donating the prompt for this chapter.**

 **One more then I'm all caught up with donations. Up next is Leya Anhaylla**

 **And donations are being accepted once more. Drop them off in a review if you're so inclined.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	29. Drug Lords and Cheesecake

"Why the fuck is there someone shooting at us?" Ichigo yelled as Toushiro shoved him down a random alleyway and pushed him behind a dumpster. The gun shots ricocheted against the walls and he swore one hit the metal dumpster. His heart stopped and he reached for his phone to call 911.

"What are you doing?" Toushiro asked softly, grabbing Ichigo's hand.

"Calling the police." Ichigo answered incredulously. His heart was hammering against his ribs and his back was covered in cold sweat.

"No."

"No?"

"Hush."

Ichigo was about to argue, but his voice dried up when his boyfriend pullout out a handgun from inside his jacket. His mouth fell open and a ball of dread formed in his stomach. Toushiro had a gun. His boyfriend had been casually carrying a gun around all night and there were people shooting at them. He had to blink violently to stop himself from passing out.

"What the hell, Shiro? Did you have that on you all night?"

Toushiro shot him a withering glance that Ichigo knew meant shut up. He gulped, his heart racing and muscles tightening. He had never even considered that their night would have taken a turn like this. Toushiro was mysterious, and Ichigo liked that about him. Combined with his brand name clothes, luxury car, and the fact that he refused to tell Ichigo where he worked Ichigo sometimes felt like he was dating a secret agent... or an undercover criminal. Right now he couldn't tell which, however. He was silently hopping that Toushiro didn't turn out to be a drug lord. There was a click as Toushiro turned off his gun's safety. Ichigo still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Toushiro knew what he was doing and Ichigo couldn't tell if it was sexy or scary.

Toushiro poked his head around the side of the dumpster, his finger on the trigger of the gun. A bullet went whizzing past his head and he jerked backwards with a curse. He grabbed Ichigo's hand and yanked him to his feet, running deeper into the dark alley. Ichigo felt like his chest was going to explode from the adrenaline building up inside of him. He couldn't catch his breath either, but Toushiro urged him on. Behind them he could hear footsteps and people yelling. There were a few more gunshots that made him duck instinctively, and nearly topple forward more than once.

"Shiro!" he yelled when Toushiro jerked him forward again and stumbled himself. "We need to call the police!"

Toushiro wheeled around about to answer when a back door opened and a teenager with a large trash back stepped out. Toushiro bowled past him through the open door and dragged Ichigo along. He almost didn't hear the kid yell at them in shock. Toushiro pulled him through the kitchen, dodging past chefs and waiters, earning disapproving grunts and annoyed stares. But then they skidded to a stop in the middle of a busy restaurant – a Cheesecake Factory of all places – and Toushiro shoved him into an empty booth. They both took a few minutes to catch their breath and Ichigo looked surreptitiously around hoping that they hadn't picked up a crowd or were being followed. A waitress eyed them as she passed down the aisle and Ichigo froze locking eyes with Toushiro until she left. He breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the back of the booth.

"Shiro, what the hell is going on?

He subtly shook his head and smiled politely when the same waitress returned with a couple of menus and a poured them water. She introduced herself, but Ichigo wasn't listening. He stared at his boyfriend, or the man who he thought was his boyfriend, until the waitress left again.

"Toushiro," he growled, "what was that about?"

Toushiro sighed, scanning the restaurant. "I don't know."

"There were people with guns, shooting at us! You have a gun!" he was fighting to keep his voice down.

"I don't know who they are or what they want."

"But you have a gun."

"Yes. I do."

"What the hell is going on?"

The waitress had snuck back to place a basket of bread on their table and she jumped slightly, looking awkward as she stepped away.

Toushiro pulled his jacket tightly around himself. "I wish I could tell you, Ichigo-"

"If you say anything about classified information I'm walking out of this restaurant."

Toushiro shot him a pained look before shaking his head. "I'm sure you've figured it out."

"You're a spy?"

"A government agent."

"Like James Bond?"

"Not like James Bond at all."

Ichigo breathed in deeply, taking in all that had happened that night. He couldn't help it he started laughing. They had gone to the movies then were gunned down by a couple of thugs. Now they had escaped and were about to order dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory. And _now_ he was finding out that his boyfriend was a government agent. Shit like this would only happen to him. It was as if his life was a cheesy action-drama movie. He rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin on his palms.

"So what's gonna happen now? Do you have some sort of gadget to get us out of here?"

Toushiro frowned slightly. "I wish I did... We should be safe for now. It doesn't look like we've been followed."

Ichigo snorted. "So, we're just gonna act like we're on a date now?"

"We are on a date."

"We were, you know, before we got shot at."

He had meant it more as a joke than a barb – he tended to use humour to cope with stress – but Toushiro looked guilty all the same. Ichigo reached across the table to take his hand, only then noticing that he was shaking. Toushiro chewed his bottom lip.

"Forgive me. Getting you caught up in this was the last thing I ever wanted."

Ichigo took a few more deep breaths. "I didn't die and now we're having dinner. You... you don't have to apologise."

Toushiro shook his head.

"Really, babe, it's not as if you asked those guys to jump us. It's not your fault."

Toushiro was tense through the rest of their dinner. His hand kept on slipping under his jacket every time someone approached their table. Ichigo was tense too; he had nearly jumped out of his seat when the waitress bumped his elbow with the bill. He remained tense until he was back in the passenger seat of Toushiro's Mercedes-Benz and they were heading back home. There were police cars parked along the street when they had left the restaurant. Ichigo assumed that someone else had heard the gunshots and called 911. Either way they stuck to crowded areas and they took a different route home.

"I need to make some phone calls," Toushiro explained as he locked the front door.

But before he could disappear to some other part of the house Ichigo grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "I don't care what you say, tonight was straight out of a James Bond movie."

Toushiro rolled his eyes.

"And I'm more than happy to be your Bond girl."

* * *

 **Thanks to Leya Anhaylla for providing this prompt :)**

 **Up next is Geishaaa then Nico Zi**

 **I'm going to aim for updates twice a week depending on how many prompts I get per chapter.**

 **Thanks to all those who reviewed!**

 **-Mymomomo**


	30. Sleepovers and Small Beds

"You could always spend the night here," Ichigo suggested with what he hopped was an innocent smile on his face.

Toushiro hesitated, one eyebrow slightly raised. "I don't know, Ichigo..."

"Come on, Shiro, it's already so late."

Toushiro chewed the inside of his cheek, seeming to consider Ichigo's proposal. "I'm not sure. I don't think that I'm ready to... um-"

"Ready? Woah, no no no. That's not... I meant you could just sleep over. Nothing else. I promise."

Toushiro blushed faintly and turned away. "There's only one bed."

"I thought... oh. I can sleep on the couch." He tried not to sound as disappointed as he felt.

"I don't want to kick you out of your own bed, Ichigo."

"You're the guest, you should-"

"We'll share." The tips of Toushiro's ears had gone bright red. "I mean, if you want to."

"Yeah, that would be fine," he answered, grinning.

He found a Toushiro a toothbrush and sorted through his clothes for his smallest t-shirt and sweat pants. They would still swallow Toushiro, but it was better than sleeping in his jeans. Toushiro didn't even need the pants; the t-shirt ended up falling to his thighs and the sleeves grazed his elbows. It was adorable, but from the look on his face, Ichigo was sure that he'd be hurt if he said anything. It was probably too soon in their relationship to mention that he liked seeing Toushiro in his clothes.

Toushiro climbed under the sheets, stiffly pulling them up to his shoulders. Ichigo pecked him on the temple before reaching over to turn off his bedside lamp. He usually slept on his back, taking up as much of the bed as he could, but with Toushiro there; he had to lie on his side oddly aware of his breathing. He had been tired a few seconds before, but now he was wide awake. There was nothing sexual going on, but he was in bed with his boyfriend. He was elated, yet nervous. Toushiro was also on his side, his back facing Ichigo, but he could tell that he was tense. His shoulders held tightly, almost touching his ears.

"You okay, Shiro?" he asked softly. "Comfortable?"

"I'm fine."

Ichigo swallowed. "I guess a bed this size wasn't meant for sharing."

"It's fine."

"You sure? You seem a little tense."

Toushiro sighed softly. "I may be a little...uneasy."

"Why?"

Toushiro rolled over to face him. "I'll give you one guess."

Ichigo chuckled softly. "Fair enough." He took a deep breath through his nose. He could smell the toothpaste on Toushiro's breath. "It doesn't have to be awkward, if we don't make it."

Toushiro shook his head, his hair making a rustling sound against the pillowcase. "Sorry, I don't mean to make this so uncomfortable."

Ichigo cocked his head. Maybe this was too soon for them to be sharing a bed; they'd only been dating a few months. Sure they'd held hands, cuddled while watching movies, and even kissed, but maybe he'd been a bit too presumptuous in asking Toushiro to spend the night. His stomach tightened and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "It's okay. I'll move to the couch if-"

"No." Toushiro shook his head.

Ichigo froze unsure of what to do, then Toushiro scooted closer until he was pressing his face against Ichigo's chest. Ichigo jumped slightly as Toushiro's hair tickled his chin, but then he felt the tightness in his stomach loosen. He adjusted his position and wound an arm around Toushiro's waist.

"Is this okay?" he asked.

Toushiro nodded and they both lay still for a while. Electricity was almost buzzing between the two of them. He swallowed thickly, trying to make himself calm down.

"Your heart is beating rather quickly," Toushiro mumbled.

"I... uh... yeah."

Toushiro chuckled softly. "Somehow I don't think we'll be getting to sleep any time soon."

"I guess not."

Toushiro sighed and sat up. Ichigo followed. "Maybe this was a bad idea?" he suggested.

Toushiro shook his head. "We're just being immature about it."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go to the couch?"

"I'm sure." He hesitated for a bit then snuggled back into the covers once again, giving Ichigo his back. "It's just like cuddling," he muttered more to himself than Ichigo. He reached behind him to grab Ichigo's hand and pull it around his shoulders, clasping it to his chest.

Okay, so they were doing this. Ichigo shuffled closer until his chest was firmly pressed to Toushiro's back and curled around him. Toushiro wiggled a bit, trying to get comfortable before settling and smoothing his fingers across Ichigo's knuckles. Ichigo's heart was still thudding heavily, but he buried his nose into Toushiro's hair and breathed deeply. It was just like cuddling, but spooning. He'd been imagining this for months; the way Toushiro felt against him, tiny –almost delicate – but covered in wiry muscle. He grinned and adjusted his legs, running his toe along the underside of Toushiro's foot. Toushiro twitched and elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

"Go to sleep, idiot."

Ichigo chuckled, feeling all the tension in his body ebb away and tiredness replace it. He stifled a yawn in Toushiro's hair and nuzzled the back of his neck.

"Night, Shiro."

"Night."

Ichigo grinned, knowing that the best part of this would be waking up with Toushiro in his arms the next morning. (However, the next morning Toushiro woke up at the crack of dawn to get to work on time and managed to knee Ichigo in the stomach while trying to climb over him to get off the bed.)

* * *

 **Thanks to Geishaaa for donating this prompt :)**

 **Next is Nico Zi then Daygon Yuki**

 **-Mymomomo**


	31. Truth or Dare and Devious Drunks

**Sexual themes ahead, but still trying to keep the T-rating.**

* * *

"Explain this to me?" Toushiro asked with a short sigh, "Truth or dare?"

He wasn't quite sure how he ended up here, sitting in Ichigo's small apartment with Rukia and Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Rangiku, who had sniffed out the party somehow, Orihime, and three of Ichigo's human friends – medical interns at Karakura General Hospital; he believed their names were Mikado, Rin, and Tetsuya – Uryuu and Chad were unable to make it that night.

"You've never played this before?" Tetsuya asked.

Toushiro shook his head. The first round of drinks prevented it from seeming too strange he thought.

"Well, it's simple enough. You spin the bottle, whoever it lands on has to answer any question you ask or do what you tell them to."

"And if they don't?"

"Um, they take a shot?" Everyone nodded in agreement.

It was supposed to be a small get-together in honour of Orihime being home on vacation. Toushiro didn't think he had ever seen so much alcohol in one living space, including Rangiku's quarters. But since he wasn't on duty and the World of the Living wasn't within his jurisdiction he accepted the mixed drink Ichigo handed him without much fuss. Ichigo told him it was orange juice and vodka, but if it wasn't for the colour he would have thought that it was straight vodka.

They all sat down on the floor, pushing the couch and the coffee table out of the way, and polished off the bottle of vodka that had been going around. Toushiro was still a little weary of the game, but Ichigo sat down next to him and gently squeezed his knee.

"Alright everyone, just some ground rules," Ichigo started, "Nothing that will have the neighbours calling the cops, I don't want any injuries, and nothing you hear or see leaves this apartment." He eyed Rangiku at that.

She pouted, "Why are you looking at me? I _can_ keep a secret, you know."

"I also know you like to gossip."

"Harmless gossip, though..."

"All gossip is-"

"Orihime goes first!"

Toushiro rolled his eyes, it wouldn't be too bad. If he really didn't want to answer the question he could opt out. He would have to take a shot, but at least he had the option. However he underestimated the devious nature of drunk humans.

The bottle landed on Rangiku.

"Dare."

Orihime tilted her head. "I don't know... I'm not good at thinking up dares."Mikado leaned over and whispered something into her ear. Orihime giggled. "Rangiku I dare you to make out with the person to your left."

Toushiro's eyes widened, maybe this game wasn't for him after all.

Rangiku scoffed and turned to Ikkaku she looked him up and down for a few seconds then shrugged and cupped the back of his head. It wasn't a casual kiss and Toushiro wished that he had finished his drink before the game started. He glanced to Ichigo.

"You can back out, babe," Ichigo whispered to him, "You don't have to do it."

Toushiro nodded praying that the bottle wouldn't land on him. Especially with Rangiku spinning. It landed on Rukia.

"Truth."

"Are you and Renji Dating?"

It was an innocent question as far as Rangiku went. Rukia didn't even miss a beat. "No."

The bottle landed on Tetsuya and Rukia cackled and wicked smile spreading across her face. Toushiro learnt who was truly to be feared. Tetsuya grinned back, stepping up to the challenge.

"Dare."

Rukia rubbed her hands together. "I dare you to go into that closet, undress, then redress with what's inside."

He chuckled getting up and boldly strode into the closet. After a few seconds they heard a loud swear and a muffled thud.

"What's in there, Ichigo?" Orihime asked.

Ichigo grinned. "Cleaning supplies... paper towels... a vacuum..."

Tetsuya came out with almost an entire roll of paper towels wrapped around his hips. He sent Rukia a death glare. "I'm gonna get you back for this."

Rukia smiled innocently.

Toushiro was able to stay in the clear for a good while almost everyone had gone, a few people twice, before the bottle landed on him. Renji had spun and the _shinigami_ in the room held their breath.

"Uhhh, Ca- Hitsugaya, truth or dare?"

Toushiro chewed the inside of his cheek. Truth might be the safer of the two options, but with Ranigku sitting there... "Dare."

Ranigku groaned. "Come on, Captain." He glared at her, but no one noticed her slip-up.

"Okay, ummm,"

"Don't go easy on him, Renji," Rangiku called out.

"I dare you to... take off your shirt."

"Oh come on!" Rangiku moaned.

Toushiro let out a deep breath, hoping that he would remain lucky for the remainder of the game.

Technically he did remain lucky, but since everyone knew that he and Ichigo were dating most of Ichigo's questions and dares included him. The bottle seemed to love Ichigo that night.

"What's your wildest fantasy?" Orihime asked him.

"Sexual!" Mikado chimed in. Orihime nodded in confirmation.

"Fuck you, Mikado," Ichigo groaned, then turned to Toushiro, "Sorry, babe."

Toushiro's face felt like it was on fire, but he couldn't deny that he was curious.

"Uh," He scratched the back of his neck. "I kinda like the idea of being tied down... maybe him teasing me, or topping."

Toushiro's eyes widened.

"Hope you're taking notes, Hitsugaya." Tetsuya cackled.

Ichigo spun, and after he dared Yumichika the bottle landed on him again.

"Seriously? Ugh, dare."

Yumichika titled his head. "Put a piece of candy in your mouth and unwrap it with Hitsugaya."

Ichigo turned to Toushiro and apologised again. They managed to do it with only a few sexual innuendos uttered.

Two more people went before the bottle landed on Ichigo again.

"Is this thing rigged?" He eyed Rukia, and Toushiro recited a silent prayer. "Truth."

"Were you and Toushiro virgins before you met?"

Toushiro winced.

"I wasn't, he was."

"I already knew that," Rangiku bemoaned, "work with me, Rukia."

Ichigo dared Orihime to sit on Ikkaku's lap for the next round. And the bottle must have been cursed, because it landed on Ichigo when Orihime spun.

"This isn't fair," Ichigo groaned

"Sorry, Ichigo, truth or dare."

"Truth."

Rangiku leaned over.

"How flexible is Toushiro... are you sure Ran? In bed."

"Why do all of Ichigo's questions involve me?" Toushiro groused, but no one paid attention to him.

"He can get his feet behind his head."

Rangiku squealed in delight. Toushiro decided that he needed to get up for another drink.

* * *

 **This was donated by Nico Zi**

 **Up next: Daygon Yuuki,** **YellowDizzyLombax, then Boys-Love-Yaoi**

 **Leave a prompt by reviewing if you want to :)**

 **-Mymomomo**


	32. Mocha Lattes and Biology Homework

Ichigo went in for a hug. He thought that he had read the signs correctly. Toushiro was grinning, leaning into his space as they talked, and there was no sign of tension anywhere on his body. The moment Ichigo's arms came around his shoulders, he ducked under them and took a few steps away as if nothing had happened. Ichigo let his arms fall to his side, knowing that his expression had dropped as well. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, trying to play it off. It was nothing, really. Toushiro didn't even seem to notice that he had avoided the hug, continuing on with his story about a book he was reading. Still, Ichigo felt a little hurt.

When he went to massage Toushiro's shoulders as he sat stiffly on the edge of a chair one evening at the libraby, he jumped away. Ichigo swallowed down the sting of rejection. At least this time Toushiro realised what he had done. He rolled his left shoulder.

"Sorry, don't take it personally; I don't really like being touched."

Ichigo nodded. He could respect that. They hadn't been dating for that long either; Toushiro probably just needed a little more time to warm up to him. But, the next evening, as they settled down on the couch in his living room to watch a movie before Toushiro headed home for the night, he eyed the space between them and couldn't help but feel a little bit upset.

Each time they said good-bye Ichigo had to refrain from reaching out to hug him tightly. And he found it very awkward to part with a simple wave. Greetings were even more awkward, his arms twitched to wrap themselves around Toushiro's shoulders or waist, and he caught himself a few times trying to lean in for a kiss. He respected Toushiro's boundaries; if he didn't want to be touched, Ichigo wouldn't touch him.

It was hard for him to fathom, coming from a very physical family. His father wasn't afraid of showing emotions. He clung onto Ichigo when he was happy, sad, or just felt like it. His little sister, Yuzu, on many occasions had jumped on him without warning. For as long as he could remember, he had been woken up by his father trying to attack him, and had settled countless arguments via wrestling matches. But Toushiro was clearly more reserved. He held himself neatly, taking up as little space as he could. He had seen him set up his work, everything in precise lines in the middle of his area. It was a harsh contrast to Ichigo's own stuff which was thrown haphazardly across the table, books on top of books with a few crumpled sheets of paper strewn about for good measure.

Toushiro probably had a good reason for his aversion to touch and Ichigo could respect boundaries. But he really, really, wanted to hug his boyfriend.

A few days later found Ichigo pissed. He knew that outside he looked grumpy, inside he was boiling. He had seen Toushiro lounging in the student area with his 'best-friend', Rangiku, hanging off of his neck. He watched them for a few minutes. Toushiro went about doing his work, while Rangiku chatted happily in his ear and he didn't seem to mind at all. He turned around and left before anyone saw him and bristled all the way back to his apartment.

He didn't want to be the spiteful, jealous boyfriend. But Toushiro had told him that he didn't like to be touched. He hadn't hugged him, or even kissed him, and it was bugging him more than he thought it would. Ichigo was supposed to be someone special to Toushiro; their relationship was supposed to be distinctive. And yet, he allowed Rangiku to throw herself on him while Ichigo couldn't even tap him on the shoulder without him skittering away. Maybe he didn't want a boyfriend; maybe he wasn't ready to date. Ichigo's tongue tasted bitter as he sat down at his desk and pulled out a few textbooks from his bag. If he'd left Rangiku put her arm around his neck, then maybe he didn't trust him at all. Or his relationship with his so-called best-friend ran a little deeper than Ichigo had thought.

...

"Here."

A cardboard cup was set down next to his book and he smelt the telltale aroma of a mocha latte from his favourite coffee shop.

"I'll never understand how you can choke down that sweet stuff."

He glanced up to see Toushiro sit down in the chair next to his, holding a cup of his own. "What's this for?"

Toushiro tilted his head and began to pull out a few textbooks from his satchel and stack them neatly on the table. His thumbs expertly lined the spines up perfectly and he set down a pen exactly parallel to the bottom edge. "You seemed a bit off this morning." He shrugged. "I thought you could use it."

"Thanks," Ichigo said gruffly and went back to his biology notes, pushing the drink to the side so he could rest his elbow on the desk. He'd gotten a bit of self satisfaction when he snapped at Rangiku that morning, but didn't think that Toushiro would notice that anything was up.

"What's the matter?"

Ichigo spared him a glance. "Hmm?"

Toushiro set down three sheets of binder paper then turned to face him. "I've seen you scald your tongue on that particular drink because you were too eager to wait for it to cool. Now you're not touching it?"

Ichigo glanced to the coffee as steam rose from the hole in the lid. He shrugged. "Don't really need caffeine right now."

Toushiro cocked his head. "Are you mad at me?"

Ichigo sighed softly, setting his pencil down in the spine of his textbook. "Mad isn't really the right word."

"What did I do?"

He turned so that he was sitting sideways in his seat. Toushiro was sitting straight-backed as usual; the only sign that he was perturbed was the deep crease between his eyebrows.

"You told me that you don't like being touched. We're dating, but I can respect that. But that's not the issue. You let Rangiku hang off of you like it's no big deal, like she's the one you're dating."

Toushiro shook his head. "I can assure that you have no reason to be jealous of Rangiku."

"But I am. _She's_ allowed to touch _my_ boyfriend, but I'm not?"

Toushiro chewed the inside of his cheek. "I've known Rangiku for a very long time. She's very... affectionate. At this point, I honestly don't feel anything when she touches me because she does it so often."

"But she's still allowed to."

Toushiro poked his finger through one of the holes in his binder paper. "She wouldn't listen if I told her not to."

"She's allowed to and I'm not."

"It's not that you're not allowed to-"

"You told me that you don't like it. But then I see her casually touching you and you say that's it's no big deal. You have to see how that would hurt." He felt his stomach clench as he watched Toushiro look away guiltily. He didn't mean to make him feel bad about it; he'd just been stating facts. It did hurt and he wanted him to understand how he felt about the no touching rule, especially if he made exceptions for others.

"I'm sorry," he said softly after a few minutes. "I didn't realise."

"It's okay. I mean, now that we talked about it."

Toushiro shook his head. "It appears that I need to compromise on some things." He paused, tapping his fingertips against the tabletop. "You can touch me. I apologise if I try to move away on instinct, but just warn me first."

Ichigo raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

Toushiro nodded. "You are my boyfriend after all. I admit that it does seem a bit cruel if I don't let you touch me at all. If you were willing to try not to touch me then I should be willing to let you."

...

"I'm going to hug you now."

Ichigo saw Toushiro tense for a second before he nodded and met him halfway. He wrapped his arms around Toushiro's shoulders, stooping down a bit to pull him comfortably against his chest. Toushiro placed his arms loosely around Ichigo's waist.

"Is this okay?" Ichigo asked.

Toushiro nodded, his hair tickling Ichigo's cheek. "It's good."

* * *

 **This prompt was donated by Daygon Yuuki. I didn't understand what you meant in your PM, and I had a hard time trying to incorporate Isshin. Since you didn't really have an idea for specifics, I came up with this.**

 **Okay guys, I've done the jealousy prompt quite a few times already - both in this fic and What Makes Us. Unless you have directions for a specific plot/situation, I'm asking that you please, please, _please_ don't suggest jealousy as a prompt. **

**Up next is YellowDizzyLombax then Boys-Love-Yaoi.**

 **I'm also only going to be accepting prompts in reviews for the next two chapters, then this fic is going to go on a short hiatus while I figure some things out.**

 **Thanks to those who've reviewed and donated!**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	33. Bloody Noses and Bumped Heads

It wasn't that he was uncomfortable; it was just that no one's face had ever been this close to his before (not counting the times that Momo or Matsumoto had gotten in his face in order to wake him up). He could count every freckle on Ichigo's nose and he did have a couple and Toushiro was in love with them all. He could feel Ichigo's breath on his cheeks and for some reason he held his. One of his hands was braced on Ichigo's shoulder, Ichigo had and arm hooked around his waist. They were pulled flush against one another and Toushiro felt heated all over.

He wanted it – Gods, how he wanted it – but he still couldn't force himself to move the last millimetres towards Ichigo. He was standing on his tiptoes, stretching upwards to meet Ichigo's face, but his heart was pounding, and every signal from his brain telling him to move in was misfiring.

It was so terribly awkward that Ichigo slowly began to edge away. He could feel how his boyfriend deflated at his unintentional rejection. He curled away, a frown forming on his face. Toushiro floundered, and before he could think – could really think – he jolted forward. His lips bumped against Ichigo's a bit harder than either of them expected. Ichigo drew in a short breath through his nose, and Toushiro's brain screamed at him to pull away. He needed to stop thinking. He never would have thought that he would be begging himself to do so. He wanted to enjoy the moment, not to be anticipating Ichigo's reaction or whether or not he would be embarrassed afterwards, or what they were going to talk about, or what this meant for their relationship –

Ichigo's hand curled around the base of his skull, fingers entwining in his hair. He could feel steam rise from his ears as al his thoughts finally and thankfully came to a halt. He screwed his eyes shut as Ichigo's lips pressed more firmly against his. He couldn't believe it; this was their first kiss. He felt weightless, like the room was tilting.

No, it actually was tilting. He was tumbling backwards, he realised as his brain woke up and scrambled to catch up with reality. He threw a leg out to steady himself, but he was already too far off balance, Ichigo hanging onto him, if not aiding him in falling. They both landed in a heap on the floor. Toushiro's head smacked against the wooden flooring with a surprisingly loud smack. Ichigo landed on top of him, knocking all the air from his body, and possibly shattering a kneecap and/or elbow as well.

Well, at least he knew the dizziness was for real now.

Ichigo was swearing, helping him to sit up.

"Are you okay?" his voice was tinged with panic, eyes blow wide in worry.

Toushiro swallowed, raising an arm to gingerly poke the tender spot at the back of his head. "Yeah," he coughed. "I... uh..."

"Are you sure?" Ichigo wiped his forehead with his thumb and Toushiro brushed his hand away, bringing his fingertips to the spot. It was sticky. His breath hitched as he pressed his fingers harder against his head and noticed that Ichigo's nose was bleeding.

He swore. "Kurosaki, your nose!"

Ichigo brought the back of his hand to his nose and groaned. "Must have hit in on your forehead."

"Is it broken?" Toushiro felt his stomach sink. This wasn't how their first kiss was supposed to have turned out.

"Nah," he shrugged, bunching up the front of his kosode, to soak up the dripping blood. Toushiro stared, unsure whether he should be relieved or slightly disgusted. "Can't believe that happened."

"Do you want a tissue?"

"Huh?"

"A tissue, for your nose?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

Toushiro shakily got to his feet. His head was beginning to throb now, but he was more concerned with his heated face and ears. If Matsumoto or Momo got wind of this he would never live it down. Ichigo would probably never try to kiss him again. He yanked open a drawer and began shuffling the contents in search of the small packet of tissues he knew was in there. He froze, however, when a sinewy arm was hooked around his middle and he felt Ichigo's chest against his back.

Gentle shaking told him that Ichigo was laughing. He looked over his shoulder in confusion; there was nothing to be laughing about.

"And this is why I love you," Ichigo snickered.

"I'm sorry?"

"This has to be the world record for most memorable first kiss."

Toushiro sighed handing Ichigo a tissue and turning around. A small chuckle bubbled past his lips. Ichigo grinned and pressed his mouth Toushiro's forehead.

"We can try again when I'm not all bloody."

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay, I've been busy with some stuff.**

 **Thanks to YellowDizzyLombax for donating this prompt. The last chapter for a while will be Boys-Love-Yaoi's prompt.**

 **I'll re-srart this probably in a few months time, so keep an eye out if you've enjoyed it so far.**

 **\- Mymomomo**


	34. Pillows and Naughty Dreams

Ichigo was all over him. His hands were everywhere at once, his mouth hot. Toushiro gasped and squirmed as Ichigo leaned over him, pressing his mouth to his neck and beginning to suck and bite. His twisted his fingers in Ichigo hair, throwing back his head and moaning. Then Ichigo's hands began to lead blazing trails lower and lower and –

Toushiro woke with a jerk, his legs flying and remnants of heat in his groin. His mouth was dry and he slowly sat up blinking away the last bits of the dream. His cheeks heated to 1000 degrees and he glanced over to his very much awake boyfriend. He'd kicked him. Perfect.

"Bad dream?" Ichigo asked dragging a hand down his face and propping himself up on an elbow.

Toushiro looked away. What could have possibly brought on a dream like that? He covered his face with his hands. There was no way that he would be able to look at Ichigo ever again. It wasn't as if Ichigo had been denying him of anything; they had a very _healthy_ relationship. He had no reason to have that kind of dream.

"Hey, babe," Ichigo said, rolling over to Toushiro's side of the bed, "Whatever it was, it was just a dream."

"I know," Toushiro groaned not daring to move his hands just yet. Ichigo hooked an arm around his waist in an attempt to soothe him. Hi ears had never felt that hot. And they grew hotter as Ichigo drew closer.

"Calm down, then?"

He couldn't. Not after that dream had come out of nowhere and all he could think about was Ichigo's mouth on his-

Ichigo nuzzled into his side, his face dangerously close to his lower abdomen. Toushiro squeaked and bolted from the bed. Ichigo flopped to the mattress and stared at him in confusion.

"Babe?"

Toushiro was bracing himself with his forearms to the wall and his head resting against them. He couldn't look at Ichigo right now. Not without thinking about his dream. Not without feeling his hands on his body and thinking about the way – no. He shook his head, trying to push the dream to the back of his mind.

"The hell kind of dream did you have?"

Toushiro swallowed thickly. "I..."

The sheets rustled as Ichigo slid off the bed. Toushiro tensed, every muscle in his body on the verge of cramping, as Ichigo wrapped his arms around his waist and set his chin against his shoulder.

"Was it a naughty dream?"

He could hear the smile in Ichigo's voice and bit his bottom lip. It made no sense denying it at this point, but hell was he going to admit it.

Ichigo scoffed, pressing his palms flat against Toushiro's stomach and nuzzling into the side of his neck. Toushiro chocked out a gasp. "It was, wasn't it?"

"It's not funny, Kurosaki."

Ichigo pecked his cheek, before grabbing one of his hands and pulling him back to bed. "It is, kinda. You're always so uptight about that kind of stuff."

Toushiro's cheeks were still on fire as he sat down on the bed. "Well, it's not... it's not polite conversation."

Ichigo shrugged. "You're still a person. It's expected, though. Everyone has them."

Toushiro grumbled, hanging his head.

"Unless you're asexual. And I know for a fact that you aren't."

Toushiro flopped face-first onto his pillow. Ichigo chuckled as he gently rubbed his back. "So what was it about?"

Nope. He was not, in a million years ever going to answer that question.

The rubbing turned into poking. "Shirooo, tell me."

This wasn't the first time he had wondered why he was dating this idiot.

"Shiro, come on! Tell me."

He growled. "You." His voice was muffled by the pillow, but Ichigo had superhuman hearing when he wanted to.

Ichigo cackled in success. "You had a naughty dream about me?"

"Shut up."

"I'm flattered, babe."

"Shut up."

"It's nothing to be ashamed about. I've dreamt about you before."

"Ichigo," he groaned at Ichigo's unabashed tone. There were some things that he shouldn't talk about so freely. But... his curiosity was piqued. He sat up, bringing the pillow to his lap. "You have?"

* * *

 **Thanks to Boys-Love-Yaoi for this prompt. sorry for the ridiculous wait.**

 **Like I said in the last chapter, this is going to be it for a while. Thanks to everyone who donated prompts.**

 **I'm not sure when I'll pick this story back up, but if you want to be notified when I do, hit that follow button.**

 **-Mymomomo**


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